a strong supporting report for the hadith. And Allah knows best.

The third is from Thawban, from the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, who said: He cited it, but without the words: “and those who extract divorces.” It was recorded by al-Tirmidhi (1/323), Ibn ʿAdi, and al-Harbi in Gharīb al-Ḥadīth (5/185/1), through Layth, from Abu al-Khattab, from Zurʿah, from Abu Idris, from him.

Al-Tirmidhi said: “This is a singular hadith, and its chain of transmission is not strong.”

I say: Its flaw lies in Layth—namely, Ibn Abi Sulaym—who is weak; and his shaykh Abu al-Khattab is unknown, as al-Hafiz stated. It has another defect as well: Ibn Abi Hatim mentioned it (1/304–305) by way of Abu Bakr ibn ʿAyyash, from Layth, with this chain, except that he did not mention Abu Idris in its chain of transmission. He said: “This is the correct version. They made it a connected chain, adding a man to it.”

I say: Nevertheless, the hadith is authentic, as it is supported by the preceding chains.

The fourth is from ʿUqbah ibn ʿAmir al-Juhani, with the wording: “Indeed, women who seek khulʿ and those who extract divorces are hypocrites.” Al-Tabari narrated it (vol. 4, no. 4842, p. 568), saying: Abu Kurayb narrated to us; Hafs ibn Bishr narrated to us; Qays ibn al-Rabiʿ narrated to us, from Ashʿath ibn Sawwar, from al-Hasan, from Thabit ibn Yazid, from ʿUqbah ibn ʿAmir al-Juhani, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, said it.

I say: This is a weak chain of transmission because of Ashʿath ibn Sawwar, for he is weak, as stated in al-Taqrīb. Qays ibn al-Rabiʿ is likewise weak; yet al-Haythami found fault with it solely on account of him (5/5), after attributing it to al-Tabarani, and said: