I say: All its narrators are trustworthy and are among Muslim’s narrators, except Zayd ibn Arṭāh, who is trustworthy, as stated in al-Taqrīb.

Al-Bayhaqī then transmitted it through the route of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ, who said: Muʿāwiyah ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to me from him, except that he mentioned ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir in place of Abū Dharr. Al-Bayhaqī then said: “It is possible that Jubayr ibn Nufayr narrated it from both of them, while another narrator related it from Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal without mentioning Abū Dharr—may Allah be pleased with him—in its chain of transmission.”

I say: Aḥmad likewise transmitted it as a mursal report in his book al-Zuhd, as cited in al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr. However, Salamah ibn Shabīb, who narrated it from him with a connected chain, is trustworthy, and Muslim relied upon him; therefore, his addition is accepted. The hadith is further strengthened by a corroborating report from Abū Umāmah, attributed to the Prophet, with a weak chain of transmission, which I have documented in al-Mishkāh (1332).