Muslim, al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad (339), al-Tirmidhi (3/284), Ibn Majah (2/407), and Ahmad also transmitted it through Habib ibn Abi Thabit, from him. Al-Tirmidhi said: “It is a good, authentic hadith.”

I say: Ibn Abi Najih corroborated him in narrating it from Mujahid: “Sa'id ibn al-As sent a delegation from Iraq to Uthman. They came and lavished praise upon him, whereupon al-Miqdad began throwing dust in their faces and said...” He then cited it in similar wording. In another version: “Al-Miqdad stood up and said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: Throw dust in the faces of those who lavish praise.’ Al-Zubayr said: ‘As for al-Miqdad, he has discharged his duty.’” Ahmad transmitted it. Its narrators are reliable, but its chain is interrupted, for Mujahid did not hear from Uthman ibn Affan, who died in 35 AH; and al-Miqdad had died two years before him. Abu Ma'mar therefore stands between them, as in Habib’s aforementioned narration from Mujahid. Moreover, Habib practised tadlis and narrated it with an ambiguous ‘from’ formula.

The third route is through Abdullah al-Bahi: “A group of riders stopped by Uthman ibn Affan and praised and extolled him. Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad was there, and he took a handful of earth...” The hadith is similar in wording. Ahmad transmitted it, and the narrators in its chain are reliable. Thus, it is authentic if al-Bahi lived to witness the incident, but I do not believe that he did.

The fourth route is through Maymun ibn Shabib, who said: “A man came praising one of Uthman’s governors in the presence of al-Miqdad, so he threw dust in his face...” The hadith was transmitted by Ahmad and Abu Nu'aym in al-Hilyah (4/377).