This hadith is among his narrations from Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir, so there is no basis for deeming it defective—especially since it has a supporting report of similar wording in the hadith of Ibn ʿAbbās recorded by al-Tirmidhī, who graded it good. I have cited it in al-Mishkāh (4472). It does not contain the phrase “before going to sleep,” but this is found in Aḥmad (1/274) and Ibn Ḥibbān (1440), through another route from him, with similar wording.
I say: Its chain of transmission is authentic according to Muslim’s criteria. The addition also has another supporting report in the hadith of Abū al-Nuʿmān Maʿbad ibn Hawdhah al-Anṣārī, attributed to the Prophet, with the wording: “Use scented antimony kohl, for it clears the sight and promotes hair growth.” Aḥmad (3/476, 499–500) and Abū Dāwūd (2377) reported it. Abū Dāwūd said: “Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn told me: ‘It is a rejected hadith.’”
I say: Its defect is that it is narrated by al-Nuʿmān ibn Maʿbad ibn Hawdhah, who is unknown, as stated in al-Taqrīb. Ibn Mājah (3495) and al-Ḥākim (4/207) also reported the hadith from Jābir, attributed to the Prophet, with this wording but without the addition. Al-Ḥākim said: “Its chain of transmission is authentic.”
I say: Its chain includes ʿUthmān ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, who is weak in hadith, as al-Ḥāfiẓ stated in al-Taqrīb.
- “The first to entertain a guest was Abraham. He was also the first to be circumcised at the age of eighty, and he circumcised himself with an adze.”
Ibn ʿAsākir (2/167/1) reported it: Abū al-Maʿālī Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl ibn