Abū Qurrah narrated to us: Sulaymān ibn Bilāl narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Ḥurrah narrated to me, from his uncle Ḥakīm ibn Ḥurrah, from Sulaymān al-Aʿraj, from him, with the same wording.

I say: This is a good chain of transmission; all its narrators are trustworthy. There is some criticism of ʿUbayd ibn Abū Qurrah, but it is not detrimental. Sulaymān ibn Bilāl is trustworthy and is among the narrators relied upon by both Shaykhs. However, he was contradicted: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Muḥammad al-Darāwardī narrated from Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Ḥurrah, from his uncle Ḥakīm ibn Abī Ḥurrah, from Sinān ibn Sinah al-Aslamī, a Companion of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said—and he mentioned something similar.

Al-Dārimī (2/95), Ibn Mājah (1765), Aḥmad (4/343), as well as his son ʿAbd Allāh, and al-Quḍāʿī in Musnad al-Shihāb (17/1), transmitted it through several routes from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, with this chain. Al-Būṣīrī said in Zawāʾid Ibn Mājah: “Its chain of transmission is authentic.”

I say: It is as he said, were it not for the aforementioned discrepancy. Sulaymān had better retention than ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, so his narration is sounder—if Abū Qurrah accurately preserved it from him. In any event, however, the hadith is authentic, since a discrepancy over the name of the Companion who narrated a hadith does no harm, as is apparent. Al-Dārimī added “from his father” to its chain, making the hadith, in his version, a narration of Sinah, the father of Sinān. This is rejected, because Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād alone narrated it, and he is weak—especially as he was contradicted by those previously mentioned. The author of al-Mishkāh (4206) also attributed this narration to Ibn Mājah, which is an error. And Allah, Most High, knows best.

I then found that al-Bukhārī transmitted the hadith in al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr (1/1/142–143) through both routes—from Sulaymān ibn Bilāl and ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Muḥammad. Ibn Abī Ḥātim mentioned them both in al-ʿIlal (2/13–14) and said: “Abū Zurʿah was asked, ‘Which of the two is more authentic?’ He replied, ‘Al-Darāwardī’s hadith is more plausible.’” That is what he said; and Allah knows best.