especially since Ruwaym narrated it in another report of his, explicitly stating that al-Zuhri narrated it from Anas, with the wording: “When the land is fertile, dismount your riding animals and give them their due of grazing; but when the land is barren, press on across it. Travel by night, for the land is traversed more swiftly at night.”
- “When the land is fertile, dismount your riding animals and give them their due of grazing; but when the land is barren, press on across it. Travel by night, for the land is traversed more swiftly at night.”
It was recorded by al-Tahawi in al-Mushkil (1/31), al-Khatib (8/429), and al-Bayhaqi (5/256), through two routes from Ruwaym ibn Yazid, who said: Al-Layth ibn Saʿd narrated to me from ʿUqayl, from Ibn Shihab, who informed me from Anas ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said it. Then he mentioned it.
I say: This is an authentic chain. Its narrators are trustworthy and are narrators of the two Shaykhs, apart from this Ruwaym, who is trustworthy, as mentioned in the previous hadith. Al-Haythami said in al-Majmaʿ (5/257): “Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are trustworthy.” Elsewhere (3/213), he said: “Abu Yaʿla recorded it, and its chain contains Humayd ibn al-Rabiʿ. Ahmad and al-Daraqutni declared him trustworthy, while a group declared him weak. Al-Bazzar also recorded it, and its narrators are those of the authentic collections, except for Ruwaym al-Maʿuli, who is trustworthy.”
I say: Humayd ibn al-Rabiʿ, in Abu Yaʿla’s Musnad (913), merely corroborates another narrator, so his weakness does not harm it. The hadith also has many supporting reports, including one from ʿAbd Allah ibn Mughaffal, attributed to the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—with similar wording. Al-Haythami said (3/313): “Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are trustworthy.” Another is from Khalid ibn Maʿdan, from his father, from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—with similar wording, adding at its beginning: