He then transmitted it through the chain of Abū Isḥāq, from al-Agharr Abū Muslim, from Abū Hurayrah and Abū Saʿīd together, traced back to the Prophet, and simply said, “the same,” without quoting the wording in full.

That is what he wrote—“the same.” Yet I hesitate to accept that al-Agharr’s report is indeed identical, for Muslim (8/72) and Ibn Mājah (2/418) record it with the wording:

“Whenever a group of people sit in an assembly in which they remember Allah, the angels surround them, mercy envelops them, tranquillity descends upon them, and Allah mentions them among those who are with Him.”

75 – “Whenever a group of people sit in an assembly in which they remember Allah, the angels surround them, mercy envelops them, tranquillity descends upon them, and Allah mentions them among those who are with Him.”

This wording belongs to Ibn Mājah. Al-Tirmidhī related it two ḥadiths before the present heading, declaring it “good and sound” and remarking, “its like.” Allah knows best.

I remain uncertain that this statement genuinely stems from al-Tirmidhī, even though it appears in some copies of his work. Al-Suyūṭī, in al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr, cites the ḥadith as reported by al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah from Abū Hurayrah and Abū Saʿīd together. His attribution to Ibn Mājah also warrants examination, for I find in Ibn Mājah only the second version transmitted by Muslim. Allah knows best.

Moreover, the copy of Sunan al-Tirmidhī on which Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī is based does not place this second chain immediately after the ḥadith under discussion. For this wording, al-Tirmidhī has another route from Abū Hurayrah, traced back to the Prophet, containing the phrase: “... and whenever a group gathers in one of the houses of Allah to recite the Book of Allah and study it among themselves ...”