from Qatādah, from Anas, attributing it to the Prophet.
It was recorded by al-Tirmidhī and Abū Yaʿlā in his Musnad (3/769), and from him by al-Ḍiyāʾ al-Maqdisī in al-Mukhtārah (The Selected Hadiths) (205/1), and by al-Rūyānī in his Musnad (240/2). Al-Tirmidhī said: “This is a singular hadith. Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl said: ‘Neither this hadith nor Maʿmar’s hadith from ʿAmmār Abū ʿAmmār, from Abū Hurayrah, is authentic.’”
I say: The narrators of this chain are trustworthy and are among those relied upon by the two Shaykhs, apart from Sulaymān al-Raqqī. He is truthful but not strong, as stated in al-Taqrīb. A narrator such as him is suitable for corroboration, especially since it has also been narrated from Anas through a route other than his. Al-Haythamī cited it in al-Majmaʿ (The Compendium) (5/139) and said:
“It was narrated by al-Bazzār, and its chain includes ʿAnbasah ibn Sālim. Al-Bazzār said: ‘We know of no one who corroborated him in this,’ and Abū Dāwūd declared him weak.”
I say: This ʿAnbasah is not in the first route, so perhaps he narrated it from Anas through another chain. And Allah knows best. Then what I had hoped for was confirmed, for I found it in Zawāʾid al-Bazzār (Bazzār’s Additions) (p. 171), through the route of this ʿAnbasah, from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr, from Anas. All its other narrators are trustworthy.
- As for the hadith of Jābir, Abū Dāwūd recorded it (2/187) through the route of Abū al-Zubayr, from him, attributing it to the Prophet.
Its narrators are trustworthy, so it is authentic were it not for Abū al-Zubayr’s use of the ambiguous transmission formula “from.” Nevertheless, Muslim included dozens of hadiths narrated by him from Jābir with this formula, through routes other than that of al-Layth from him. Thus, in any event, it is a sound supporting report—especially since al-Nawawī said in his Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn (Gardens of the Righteous): “Its chain is good,” as al-Manāwī related in al-Fayḍ. In conclusion, the hadith is undoubtedly authentic when all its routes are taken together. Praise be to Allah, by Whose grace righteous deeds are completed.