“Weak; and it is said that Hammad ibn Zayd declared him a liar.” The remaining narrators in the chain are trustworthy narrators used by al-Bukhari, apart from ʿAmr ibn Malik, who was truthful but prone to errors.

In al-Majmaʿ (10/215), it states: “It was narrated by Ahmad, al-Tabarani in al-Kabir and al-Awsat, and al-Bazzar. Its chain contains Yahya ibn ʿAmr ibn Malik al-Nakari, who is weak, though he was deemed trustworthy; the rest of its narrators are trustworthy.”

I say: However, the hadith has many corroborating reports by which it becomes authentic. Among them is what has preceded. Another is narrated from Abu Ayyub with the wording: “O Abu Ayyub, if you did not sin ...,” to the end of the hadith, except that it says: “and He would forgive them.” Al-Khatib narrated it (4/217) through the route of Ahmad ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Haddad: Yazid ibn ʿUmar narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Muhammad, from ʿAbd Allah, the freedman of ʿUfrah, from Muhammad ibn Kaʿb al-Qurazi, from Abu Ayyub.

I do not know Yazid ibn ʿUmar, and likewise I have found no one who mentions ʿAbd Allah, the freedman of ʿUfrah. I fear that there may be some omission or textual corruption in the chain, for al-Tirmidhi narrated it (2/270) through the route of ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Abi al-Zinad, from ʿUmar, the freedman of Ghufrah, from Muhammad ibn Kaʿb, from Abu Ayyub, with the same meaning. However, he did not cite its wording, but instead referred to the wording of another hadith preceding it: “Were you not to sin ...” It will appear under no. 1963. Al-Tirmidhi said: “Similar to it.”

This ʿUmar is weak and frequently omitted links in his chains, as stated in al-Taqrib. Ishaq ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Farwah also followed him in narrating it from Muhammad ibn Kaʿb al-Qurazi, from Abu Ayyub, with similar wording.