It may be said that Ibn ʿAdī mentioned it in Ibn Abī Rawād’s biographical entry only because the hadith was known through him, having also been narrated from him by others besides these two. Ibn Abī Ḥātim said in al-ʿIlal (2/331): “Abū Zurʿah was asked about a hadith narrated by Abū Taqī, who said: Baqiyyah narrated to me; ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Abī Rawād narrated to me through the same chain ...” He then cited it with the wording: “Do not begin speaking before offering the greeting; whoever begins speaking before the greeting, do not respond to him.” Abū Zurʿah said: “This hadith has no basis. Baqiyyah did not hear this hadith from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz; rather, it is only from the people of Homs, and the people of Homs do not distinguish this.”

I say: Abū Taqī was named Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik. Through his route, Abū Nuʿaym recorded it in al-Ḥilyah (8/199) and said: “It is a singular report among the narrations of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz; we have recorded it only through the narration of Baqiyyah.”

I say: In his version, Baqiyyah did not explicitly state direct transmission, but he did so in another narration. Ibn al-Sunnī said in ʿAmal al-Yawm wa-l-Laylah (210): Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad al-Ḥimṣī informed us; Kathīr ibn ʿUbayd narrated to us; Baqiyyah ibn al-Walīd narrated to us; Ibn Abī Rawād narrated to us through the same chain, in an abridged form: “Whoever begins speaking before the greeting, do not respond to him.” This Kathīr ibn ʿUbayd was from Homs and was trustworthy. It is difficult to accept that merely being from Homs—even while trustworthy—would render him unable to distinguish between Baqiyyah’s saying “from” and his saying, “He narrated to us.” I therefore hold that the hadith, on the strength of this chain, is good at the very least. Al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad al-Ḥimṣī has a biographical entry in Tārīkh Ibn ʿAsākir (8/444/2). No criticism or accreditation is mentioned there concerning him, though a number of people narrated from him.

It has also been narrated from Nāfiʿ through other chains, but they are very weak. Al-Ṭabarānī recorded it in al-Awsaṭ through Hārūn ibn Muḥammad Abū al-Ṭayyib, from ʿAbd Allāh al-ʿUmarī, from Nāfiʿ. Al-Haythamī said (8/32): “Hārūn ibn Muḥammad is a liar.”