—if he narrated it—did so in the Musnad. I have seen them, in their books, attribute to Ahmad’s Musnad hadiths that Ahmad (1) had never heard, as was done by Ibn al-Bitrīq, by the author of “al-Tarā'if” from among them, and by others—all because of their ignorance. This is apart from the lies they fabricate, for lying abounds among them.
Even assuming that Ahmad narrated the hadith, the mere (narration) (2) of it by Ahmad does not entail that it is authentic and must be acted upon. Rather, Imam Ahmad narrated (3) many hadiths in order to identify and explain their weakness to people. This is so evident and widespread in his statements and answers that it requires no elaboration, particularly concerning a fundamental matter as momentous as this.
Moreover, this first hadith is one of al-Qatī'ī’s additions (4). He narrated it from Nasr ibn Alī al-Jahdamī (5), from Alī ibn Ja'far, from his brother Mūsā ibn Ja'far (6). Ibn al-Jawzī included the second hadith in “Fabricated Reports” and explained that it was fabricated (7). As for Ibn Khālawayh’s narration, it does not establish that this hadith is authentic