He said, “Which jihad is best?” He replied, “That in which one’s horse is hamstrung and one’s blood is shed.” The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then said: “There are two deeds that are among the best of deeds, except for one who performs the like of them: an accepted Hajj or an Umrah.”

I say: The narrators in its chain are trustworthy and are among those cited by the two Shaykhs. Thus, it is authentic if Abu Qilabah—whose name was Abd Allah ibn Zayd—heard it from Amr, for he practised tadlis. In any case, this passage is established by the combined strength of the two routes. And Allah knows best.

Third: The passage, “Which migration is best?” It occurs in the route mentioned above, and is therefore good as well.

Fourth: The passage, “Which prayer is best?” This is authentic, for it has corroborating reports, including the hadith of Jabir recorded by Muslim and others: “The best prayer is that with lengthy standing.”

Fifth: The passage, “Patience and magnanimity.” It has a corroborating report from the hadith of Jabir, transmitted from him through two chains.

The first: From al-Hasan, from him, who said: “It was said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, which faith is best?’ He replied, ‘Patience and magnanimity.’” Ibn Abi Shaybah recorded it in al-Musannaf (184/2). Its narrators are trustworthy and are among those cited by the two Shaykhs, except that al-Hasan al-Basri practised tadlis and did not explicitly state that he heard it.

The second: From Yusuf ibn Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir, from his father, from Jabir. Ibn Abi al-Dunya recorded it in al-Sabr (43/2), and Ibn Adi in al-Kamil, through Abu Ya'la.

I say: This Yusuf is weak, but the hadith is strong through the combined strength of its three chains.

Sixth: The passage, “A free man and a slave.” Muslim recorded it in his Sahih (2/208–209) through another route from Amr ibn Abasah.