It was narrated by Abū Dāwūd with a sound (ḥasan) chain of transmission, except for Qays ibn Bishr; the scholars disagreed over whether he is reliable or weak, yet Muslim also recorded reports from him.

Explanation
In the ḥadīth the author cites about Ibn al-Hanẓalah there are many lessons. He was a man who preferred seclusion: prayer, then glorifying Allah, then tending to his family. In other words, he disliked wasting his life in idle talk, gossip, and speech that brings no benefit. Instead, he would pray, recite tasbīḥ, and remain with his family.

One day he passed by Abū al-Dardāʾ as the latter sat with his companions. Abū al-Dardāʾ said to him, “Give us a word that will benefit us and not harm you,” meaning, “Tell us something from which we may benefit and that will not trouble you.” Ibn al-Hanẓalah replied that the Prophet ﷺ had once dispatched a detachment—meaning a small force of fewer than four hundred men—to fight the unbelievers should they refuse to accept Islam. When the detachment returned to the Prophet ﷺ, one of them sat in the place where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ normally sat and began to relate what the expedition had done.

He spoke of a skilled archer who would shoot while declaring, “Take it from me—I am the Ghifārī youth!”—boasting as he let fly his arrows.