and al-Taqrīb states that he is weak. There are other corroborating reports concerning the sprinkling of water, from the Prophet’s practice, peace and blessings be upon him; I have traced some of them in Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd (159).

Note: Al-Suyūṭī included the hadith in al-Jāmiʿ with the wording: “Gabriel came to me at the beginning of the revelation bestowed upon me …,” attributing it to Aḥmad, al-Dāraquṭnī, and al-Ḥākim. Thus, he presented it as a statement of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, whereas in their versions it is a statement of the Companion; and this is likewise the case in al-Bayhaqī. However, Ibn Mājah—whom he did not cite—records it as a statement of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with the wording: “Gabriel taught me minor ablution and commanded me to sprinkle water beneath my garment for what may issue from urine after ablution.”

842 — “Gabriel, peace be upon him, came to me from Allah and said: ‘O Muhammad, Allah has said to you: I have prescribed for your community five prayers. Whoever observes them with their required ablutions, at their appointed times, and with their prostrations, shall have a covenant with Me that I will admit him to Paradise on their account. But whoever meets Me having fallen short in any part of that—or words to that effect—shall have no covenant with Me: if I will, I punish him, and if I will, I have mercy on him.’”

Al-Ṭayālisī recorded it in al-Musnad (1/66/251—its arrangement): Zamʿah narrated to us from al-Zuhrī, from Abū Idrīs al-Khawlānī, who said: “I was in a gathering of the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, among whom was ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit. They mentioned the Witr prayer, and some of them said that it was a duty, while others said that it was a sunnah. Thereupon, ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit said: ‘As for me, I bear witness that I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say …’” He then cited it.

Through al-Ṭayālisī’s chain, Abū Nuʿaym also recorded it in al-Ḥilyah (5/126–127) and said: