3. As for the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, Abu al-Shaykh transmitted it in al-Adhan, and al-Bayhaqi transmitted it from him, through the chain of Hamdan ibn al-Haytham ibn Khalid al-Baghdadi: Subayh ibn Umayr al-Sirafi narrated to us; al-Hasan ibn Ubayd Allah narrated to us, from al-Hasan and Ata, both of whom narrated from Abu Hurayrah. Al-Bayhaqi said: “Its chain of transmission is not well known.”

I say: He is indicating that Subayh is unknown, as al-Hafiz stated in his biographical notice in Lisan al-Mizan. Following his source, he also mentioned that al-Azdi said: “There is some weakness in him.”

Hamdan ibn al-Haytham was Abu al-Shaykh’s teacher and was declared trustworthy, but he narrated a rejected report from Ahmad. See al-Mizan.

4. As for the hadith of Salman, Abu al-Shaykh likewise narrated it, as cited in al-Jami al-Saghir. Al-Manawi made no comment on its chain of transmission, nor on that of the preceding report; nevertheless, he concluded his discussion of the hadith by saying: “All this shows the flaw in the author’s grading it good—unless he means that it is good on account of supporting reports.”

I say: This is also my view: it is good, because its routes of transmission—apart from the third—do not contain severe weakness. And Allah knows best.

Note: The term al-mu'tasir here refers to one who needs to defecate in order to prepare himself for prayer. It is derived either from a word denoting pressing, or from one meaning a refuge or concealed place.

888. “Indeed, a man may utter a word that earns Allah’s good pleasure, never imagining that it would attain what it has attained; through it, Allah records His good pleasure for him until the day he meets Him. And indeed, a man may utter a word that incurs Allah’s wrath, never imagining that it would attain what it has attained; through it, Allah records His wrath against him until the day he meets Him.”