“I asked my father about a hadith narrated by Abū Ismāʿīl al-Muʾaddib, from Wāʾil ibn Dāwūd, from Saʿīd ibn ʿUmayr, al-Barāʾ’s nephew, from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who was asked …” He then cited the hadith. My father said: “Al-Ḥasan ibn Shādhān also related to me from Ibn Numayr, in the same manner, with a connected chain from al-Barāʾ. As for the trustworthy narrators—al-Thawrī and those with him—they narrated from Wāʾil ibn Dāwūd, from Saʿīd ibn ʿUmayr, directly from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The mursal version is more likely.”

I say: This indicates that the narrators differed concerning al-Thawrī’s chain of transmission. Al-Ḥākim narrated it from him with a connected chain, as mentioned above, whereas Abū Ḥātim states that he narrated it as a mursal report.

To sum up what has preceded: a group narrated it from Wāʾil as a mursal report, while others narrated it from him with a connected chain. There is no doubt that preference belongs to those who transmitted it with a connected chain, since they possess additional knowledge; and one who has knowledge is proof against one who does not. Those who transmitted it with a connected chain are trustworthy: Ibn Numayr, Abū Saʿīd al-Muʾaddib, and Sufyān al-Thawrī, according to one of the reports from him. Shurayk, likewise, is trustworthy, though he had poor retention. Thus, his narration is relied upon where he agrees with the trustworthy narrators, as he does here; but it is not relied upon where he differs from them—which he also did here. For he agreed with them that the chain was connected, but differed from them regarding the identity of the Companion: he said, “from his maternal uncle, Abū Burdah,” whereas they said, “from his uncle.” Some said, “from al-Barāʾ.” Thus, they agreed that its chain was connected, while differing over its Companion narrator. This causes no harm, since all the Companions are upright. And Allah knows best.

608 — “This is not proper”—that is, for a woman to stipulate to her husband that she will not marry after him.

Al-Ṭabarānī narrated it in al-Muʿjam al-Ṣaghīr (p. 238) through Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Idrīs narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from Abū Sufyān, from Jābir, from Umm Mubashshir al-Anṣāriyyah:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, proposed marriage to Umm Mubashshir, daughter of al-Barāʾ ibn Maʿrūr. She said, ‘I stipulated to my husband that I would not marry after him.’ The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, then …” He then cited it.

Al-Ṭabarānī said: “Nuʿaym alone narrated it.”