535 — “There is no part of the body that does not complain to Allah about the tongue because of its sharpness.”

It was recorded by Abu Yaʿla in his Musnad (1/4), Ibn al-Sunni in ʿAmal al-Yawm wa-l-Laylah (7), Ibn Abi al-Dunya in al-Waraʿ (fol. 165/2), Abu Bakr Ibn al-Naqqur in the first part of al-Fawaʾid al-Hisan (133/1), Abu Nuʿaym in al-Ruwat ʿan Saʿid ibn Mansur (209/1–2), and al-Bayhaqi in al-Shuʿab (9/65/2), through ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Muhammad, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from his father:

“ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab came upon Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, while he was pulling his tongue. He asked, ‘What are you doing, O Caliph of the Messenger of Allah?’ He replied, ‘This has led me into perilous places. Indeed, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said...’” He then cited it.

Ibn al-Naqqur said: “Abu Usamah Zayd ibn Aslam, the freedman of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab, was alone in narrating this hadith. His reports are included in both Sahih collections. He narrated it from his father, Abu Khalid Aslam, who was among the captives from Yemen; it is said that he was Bajawi. His reports are found only in al-Bukhari. The narrations from Zayd differ: Hisham ibn Saʿd, Muhammad ibn ʿAjlan, Dawud ibn Qays, and ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar al-ʿUmari narrated it as did ʿAbd al-ʿAziz in the narration we have related. Sufyan al-Thawri, however, narrated it from Zayd ibn Aslam, from his father, from Abu Bakr, and stated in it: ‘Aslam said: I saw Abu Bakr.’ It has been said that this was an error on the part of al-Thawri. Saʿid ibn al-Khumays narrated it from Zayd, from ʿUmar, from Abu Bakr, omitting Aslam. The correct version is that of ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Muhammad ibn Abi ʿUbayd al-Darawardi and those who followed him: from Zayd, from his father, from ʿUmar, from Abu Bakr, as we have presented it. And Allah knows best.”

I say: The chain of transmission is authentic according to al-Bukhari’s criteria. Although al-Darawardi is among Muslim’s individual narrators, he is trustworthy, and he was corroborated by the group mentioned by Ibn al-Naqqur. Thus, the hadith from Zayd ibn Aslam is authentic and well-known. Malik also corroborated him: he recorded it in al-Muwattaʾ (2/988/12) from Zayd ibn Aslam with this chain, but without the hadith attributed to the Prophet.