2/ The Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—had earlier graded it weak in Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ (p. 771, no. 5340); he referred the reader to al-Mishkāt (5179) without adding any comments there—perhaps in the still-unpublished second verification of al-Mishkāt—and likewise in al-Ḍaʿīfah (5650).

3/ Shaykh al-Albānī—may Allah have mercy on him—later retracted that judgment and deemed the report ḥasan in al-Ṣaḥīḥah (7/850).

Shaykh al-Albānī said: “It has another elevated corroborating chain narrated from Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī with a similar wording. I had already traced it in the other book (5650) even though its chain was broken, for its transmitters are trustworthy. When I came upon this rare and strong corroboration, I hastened to document it here and then cross-referenced it there, so that readers may remain fully aware of the latest findings; knowledge is ever advancing and will not accept stagnation. In Allah, exalted be He, lies success.”

4/ Comment: I have prepared a study on the isnād of the ḥadīth through the route of Abū Mūsā which the Shaykh cited in al-Ḍaʿīfah, volume 12, still unpublished.

Consult it here:
http://www.ahlalhdeeth.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=15462#post15462

Hadith Fifteen

1/ Text: ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ—may Allah be pleased with them both—reported that the Prophet ﷺ passed by Saʿd while he was performing wuḍūʾ and said, “What is this extravagance, O Saʿd?” Saʿd asked, “Is there extravagance even in wuḍūʾ?” He replied, “Yes, even if you are at a flowing river.”

2/ The Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—had previously declared it weak in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl (1/171, no. 140), in al-Radd ʿalā Balīq (p. 98), in Ḍaʿīf Ibn Mājah (p. 35, no. 425 – old ed.), and in al-Mishkāt (1/133, no. 427).

3/ He then retracted that verdict and ruled the ḥadīth ḥasan in al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah (7/860-861, no. 3292).

Shaykh al-Albānī—may Allah have mercy on him—quoted Ibn ʿAdī’s statement about Ḥayyi ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Maʿāfirī: “I hope there is no harm in him when a reliable narrator relates from him.” The Shaykh commented: “This condition is self-evident, and at first glance it appears not to be met here because of Ibn Lahīʿah’s notorious weak memory, although he is truthful in himself. That was what led me—following others—to weaken the ḥadīth on his account in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl (1/171, no. 140) long ago and elsewhere without reference to it.

“Subsequently, something came to my attention that changed my view of Qutaybah ibn Saʿīd’s narration from Ibn Lahīʿah: namely, that it is on a par in soundness with the transmissions of the ʿAbādilah from him. I learned this from al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī’s biography of Qutaybah in Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, which I cited when discussing ḥadīth (2843); repetition is unnecessary.

“Accordingly—because this ḥadīth is transmitted by Qutaybah from Ibn Lahīʿah—I have moved from grading it weak to grading it ḥasan, hoping that Allah will forgive my errors, intentional or otherwise, and that He will increase me in knowledge and guidance.

“Al-Bayhaqī (1/197) also records an athar from Hilāl ibn Yasāf who said, ‘It used to be said: there is extravagance in everything, even in purification, even if you are on the bank of a river.’ Hilāl is a trustworthy tābiʿī, which suggests he is alluding to this ḥadīth and that it was well known among the early generations. Allah knows best.”

4/ Commentary:
a) In Irwāʾ, Shaykh al-Albānī attributed the ḥadīth to the Musnad and to Ibn Mājah—as he does in al-Ṣaḥīḥah—and he added al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī’s al-Akkiyās wa’l-Mughtarīn (p. 27).

Abū ʿUmar al-ʿUtaybī adds: It is also reported by al-Bayhaqī in al-Shuʿab (3/20, no. 2788), and al-Būṣīrī in Miṣbāḥ al-Zujājah attributes it to Abū Yaʿlā in his Musnad.

b) The athar of Hilāl ibn Yasāf is likewise narrated by Ibn Abī Shaybah in al-Muṣannaf (1/67, no. 718).

c) Benefit: al-Daqāq, in a Majlis of dictation on the Beatific Vision (p. 83, no. 156), transmitted through Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr—Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAyyāsh—from Yaḥyā ibn Abī ʿAmr al-Saybānī, a native of Ḥimṣ, from Abū Salām Mamṭūr al-Ḥabashī—may Allah have mercy on him—who said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Extravagance may occur even in ablution; indeed, extravagance exists in everything.”

Its chain is ḥasan up to Abū Salām, but it is mursal.

Abū Salām is reliable, belonging to the middle generation of the tābiʿīn; most of his narrations from the Companions are mursal, though he did hear from some of them.

The third installment is now complete. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Allah knows best, and may blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muḥammad.