- “Dry ablution consists of one strike for the face and hands.”
Ibn Khuzaymah narrated it in his Sahih (38/2), as did Ahmad (4/263), through Sa'id ibn 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza, from his father, from 'Ammar ibn Yasir, who reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said concerning dry ablution: “One strike …”
I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs. A report with the same meaning is found in the two Sahihs, Abu Dawud, and others. It is also included in Sahih Abi Dawud (343–362).
- “Among the signs of the Hour is that knowledge will be sought from the lesser ones.”
Ibn al-Mubarak narrated it in al-Zuhd (61). Abu 'Amr al-Dani narrated it from him in al-Fitan (62/2), as did al-Lalaka'i in Sharh Usul al-Sunnah (230/1—Kawakib 576). Al-Tabarani likewise narrated it in al-Kabir, and from him al-Hafiz 'Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi in al-'Ilm (fol. 16/2), and Ibn Mandah in al-Ma'rifah (2/220/1), from Ibn al-Mubarak, from Ibn Lahi'ah, from Bakr ibn Sawadah, from Abu Umayyah al-Jumahi, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said it.
The first source added: “Ibn al-Mubarak said: ‘The lesser ones are the people of religious innovation.’”
I say: This is a good chain of transmission, for Ibn Lahi'ah’s reports are authentic when narrated from him by one of the 'Abadilah—the prominent narrators named 'Abd Allah—and Ibn al-Mubarak is among them. Thus, what al-Manawi related from al-Haythami—that he declared it defective, saying, “It contains Ibn Lahi'ah, who is weak”—is not sound. This is why al-Hafiz al-Maqdisi said immediately afterward: “Its chain of transmission is good.”
Al-Harawi also narrated it in Damm al-Kalam (fol. 137/2) by this route, attributed to the Prophet, and from Ibn Mas'ud as a report attributed to the Companion.