Al-Dhahabi said in al-Du‘afā’ wa-l-Matrūkīn: “They declared him weak.”

I say: Al-Bukhari considered him extremely weak, stating, “There is serious doubt about him.” Therefore, he is not fit to serve as corroboration for the hadith of Ibn ‘Umar. For this reason, I did not feel at ease including it in al-Sahihah, and so I included it here. If I later find an acceptable corroborating report for it, I will transfer it there. And Allah knows best.

Then I came across what warranted transferring it there: al-Khatib narrated it (11/293) through ‘Uthman ibn Nasr al-Baghdadi, who said: al-Walid ibn Shuja‘ narrated to us; ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Muhammad al-Darawardi narrated to us the same report.

This is a strong parallel transmission for al-Jari, for Ibn Shuja‘ is trustworthy and one of Muslim’s narrators. However, in his biographical notice of this ‘Uthman ibn Nasr, al-Khatib added nothing beyond the statement: “His hadith reached al-Ghurabā’!” He then cited this hadith under him, without mentioning either his death or any critical assessment, favorable or otherwise.

However, it has another chain. Al-Haythami said in al-Majma‘ (5/120): “Abu ‘Abd al-Salam said: I asked Ibn ‘Umar, ‘How did the Messenger of Allah wear his turban?’ He replied: ‘He would wind the folds of his turban around his head, tuck it in at the back, and let it hang down between his shoulders.’ Al-Tabarani narrated it in al-Awsat, and its narrators are those of the Sahih collections, apart from Abu ‘Abd al-Salam, who is trustworthy.”

He also said: “Thawban, the freedman of the Messenger of Allah, reported that when the Prophet wore a turban, he would let its end hang down before him and behind him. Al-Tabarani narrated it in al-Awsat, and its chain includes al-Hajjaj ibn Rushdin, who is weak.”

In sum, the hadith is authentic through these chains. And Allah knows best.