al-Azdī. Ibn Saʿd, Ibn Ḥibbān, and al-ʿIjlī declared him trustworthy, and none narrated from him besides his nephew, Salamah ibn Kuhayl.
I found another corroborating report, attributed directly to the Prophet, which is explicit concerning the previous disagreement over the Shin. Its chain of transmission is strong, and I wished to present it to readers because of both its rarity and its clarity. It is as follows:
“When Allah gathers the servants upon a single plain, a caller will proclaim: ‘Let every people join that which they used to worship.’ The people will remain where they are. Then He will come to them and say: ‘What is the matter with the people? They have gone, while you remain here.’ They will say: ‘We are waiting for our God.’ He will say: ‘Do you recognize Him?’ They will say: ‘If He makes Himself known to us, we shall recognize Him.’ Then He will uncover His Shin for them, and they will fall down in prostration. This is the saying of Allah, Most High: ‘On the Day the Shin will be uncovered, and they will be called to prostrate but will be unable.’ Every hypocrite will remain, unable to prostrate; then He will lead them into Paradise.”
- “When Allah gathers the servants upon a single plain, a caller will proclaim: ‘Let every people join that which they used to worship.’ The people will remain where they are. Then He will come to them and say: ‘What is the matter with the people? They have gone, while you remain here.’ They will say: ‘We are waiting for our God.’ He will say: ‘Do you recognize Him?’ They will say: ‘If He makes Himself known to us, we shall recognize Him.’ Then He will uncover His Shin for them, and they will fall down in prostration. This is the saying of Allah, Most High: ‘On the Day the Shin will be uncovered, and they will be called to prostrate but will be unable.’ Every hypocrite will remain, unable to prostrate; then He will lead them into Paradise.”
Al-Dārimī recorded it in his Sunan (2/326): Muḥammad ibn Yazīd al-Bazzāz informed us, from Yūnus ibn Bukayr, who said: Ibn Isḥāq informed me; he said: Saʿīd ibn Yasār informed me; he said: I heard Abū Hurayrah say: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say it. He then cited the report.
I say: This is a sound chain of transmission. Its narrators are trustworthy and are narrators found in the Ṣaḥīḥ collections, except that Muslim only cited Ibn Isḥāq in corroboration.