(16) “Make frequent mention of la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah (there is no might nor power except with Allah), for it repels ninety-nine gates of harm, the slightest of which is anxiety.” Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ 1121. The same report appears in al-Ṣaḥīḥah, under ḥadith 1528, with the wording: “Make frequent mention of la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah, for it is a treasure from the treasures of Paradise.” The Shaykh comments: Al-Suyūṭī cited a corroborating narration in his two Jāmiʿs from the ḥadith of Jābir that says: “Make frequent mention of la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah, for it repels ninety-nine gates of harm, the least of which is anxiety.” Al-Ṭabarānī narrated it in al-Awsat, and I later located Jābir’s report in al-Awsat (no. 3684) and in al-Ṣaghīr (no. 215, al-Rawḍ) through the chain of ʿAbd al-Majīd b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. Abī Rawwād who said: “Balahṭ b. ʿAbbād narrated from Muḥammad b. al-Munkadir from Jābir ….” In sum, the version with this latter wording is weak because Balahṭ is an unknown narrator, and the man who reports from him, ʿAbd al-Majīd, is himself weak. By contrast, the wording cited in the heading is authentic on account of its multiple chains and corroborations; for that reason I placed it in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ, whereas I consigned the narration of Balahṭ to Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ. I had printed a marginal note about it; it should be deleted, for it is an obvious error to anyone who reads this documentation.

(17) “Four practices of my community they will never abandon: boasting about forefathers, vilifying lineages, and wailing. The woman who wails—if she does not repent—will be raised on the Day of Resurrection wearing a cuirass of pitch.” Al-Ṣaḥīḥah, under ḥadith 735. The Shaykh says: “Al-Haythamī quoted it in Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid, saying: ‘Al-Bazzār transmitted it and its isnād is sound.’ The fourth trait, however, is not mentioned, and I do not know whether the omission came from the transmitter or from a copyist.” He later wrote in al-Ṣaḥīḥah, under ḥadith 1952: “The ḥadith has a supporting chain from Abū Hurayrah, cited earlier under ‘Four of my community …,’ ḥadith 735. There I noted that the fourth characteristic was missing and wondered whether the lapse was on the part of the transmitter or the scribe of the Majmaʿ. It has now become more likely to me that it was the former, because the same omission occurs in Kashf al-Astār ʿan Zawāʾid al-Bazzār, no. 800. Allah knows best.”

(18) “Three persons whose prayer is not accepted—indeed, it does not ascend to the heavens nor rise above their heads: a man who leads a people in prayer while they dislike him; a man who performs the funeral prayer although he was not authorised to do so; and a woman whom her husband calls at night but she refuses him.” (Sound) Al-Ṣaḥīḥah 650. The Shaykh explains: In the original manuscript the word appears as “towiz,” which has no meaning; the correct reading “yuʾmaru” (“authorised”) is taken from al-Targhīb of al-Mundhirī. When Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah was printed, the corrected word appeared there as well. Evidently the scribal problem is ancient, for when al-Suyūṭī cited the report in al-Jāmiʿ al-Kabīr, no. 13100, he reproduced it only up to the phrase “while they dislike him.” I had earlier annotated the report in the margin of Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, remarking that it is authentic except for the middle clause, because I was then unaware of the correct wording. Allah knows best. See Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah 1/161 and Ṣaḥīḥ al-Targhīb 485.

(19) “I shall come on the Day of Resurrection to the gate of Paradise; it will be opened for me, and I shall behold my Lord seated upon His Throne—or upon His couch—whereupon He will unveil Himself to me and I shall fall down in prostration before Him.” (Weak) al-Ḍaʿīfah 1579. The Shaykh states: Al-Ḥāfiẓ ʿUthmān b. Saʿīd al-Dāramī recorded it in al-Radd ʿalā al-Marīsī (p. 14), and Muḥammad b. Abī Shaybah in Kitāb al-ʿArsh, through Ḥammād b. Salamah → ʿAlī b. Jadʿān → Abū Naẓrah → Ibn ʿAbbās. He comments: “This isnād is weak; its narrators are trustworthy except ʿAlī b. Zayd, that is, Ibn Jadʿān—he is weak,” as al-Ḥāfiẓ says in al-Taqrīb. Al-Dhahabī cited it in al-ʿUluw from al-Bukhārī’s route with Anas in a very abridged form; he added that Abū Aḥmad al-ʿAssāl transmitted it in Kitāb al-Maʿrifah with a strong chain from Thābit, from Anas, giving wording identical to the report above: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said ….” The Shaykh continues: “I have not located that chain, and for that reason I did not discuss it in my Mukhtaṣar al-ʿUluw, p. 87. Should its chain and wording be verified, it ought to be transferred to the other book. Allah knows best.”

(20) “We were commanded to seek forgiveness at the time of suḥūr seventy times.” (Weak) al-Ḍaʿīfah 4410. The Shaykh remarks: The ḥadith is weak. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah had already indicated its weakness in al-Kalimu’l-Ṭayyib, no. 46. I wrote in my own margin: “I do not know this report, and I do not think it is authentic.” My surmise proved correct once I located its chain—praise be to Allah. He adds: Note: In al-Kalimu’l-Ṭayyib the report appears on the authority of Anas with the wording: “We were commanded to seek forgiveness by night seventy times,” yet Ibn Taymiyyah did not supply its chain. I have now traced the chain, praise be to Allah, and it is clear that the wording is erroneous in several ways that will not be lost on the attentive reader, Allah willing. See al-Kalimu’l-Ṭayyib (Maʿārif edition), pp. 47 and 56.