then is the same true, in his view, of al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, al-Dhahabi, and al-Hakim?! If not, how can he set himself above them and imply—by the language of his very state, which in some circumstances speaks more eloquently than spoken words—that they were unaware of the objectionability which he himself recognized?!
Readers should also reflect on his statement concerning me: that I declared the hadith authentic on account of its chains. If he returns to my source-documentation there, he will find that I first traced the hadith through al-Mas'udi, from Sa'id ibn Abi Burdah ... and then through numerous chains from Abu Burdah, with the same report. Thus, all these chains converge on Abu Burdah alone.
Accordingly, his claim that I declared the hadith authentic on account of its chains is a lie—if he knows what hadith scholars mean when they say, “authentic through its chains,” for this has the same meaning as “authentic by virtue of external corroboration.”
It is abundantly clear that I did not declare it authentic by virtue of external corroboration, since I mentioned no route other than that of Abu Burdah. To reinforce this point, I added in this new edition: “It is therefore a very authentic chain of transmission,” because Abu Burdah is trustworthy and relied upon in both Sahih collections. So was this lie of his deliberate, intended to mislead the readers and undermine their confidence in the hadith’s authenticity? Or does he simply not know the meaning of what he said?! How apt are the following lines for such an occasion:
If you do not know, that is a calamity; ... and if you do know, the calamity is greater.
I then found a strong corroborating narrator for Abu Burdah. Al-Quda'i recorded it in Musnad al-Shihab (2/100/968) through al-Bukhtari ibn al-Mukhtar, who said: “I heard Abu Bakr and Abu Burdah narrating from their father—meaning Abu Musa al-Ash'ari—from the Messenger of Allah, the same hadith.”
I say: This is a good chain of transmission. Abu Bakr is trustworthy, like his brother Abu Burdah. Al-Bukhtari ibn al-Mukhtar was declared trustworthy by Waki' and Ibn al-Madini, and he is among the narrators relied upon by Muslim. Al-Dhahabi and al-Hafiz al-Asqalani said: “Truthful.”
One further point remains, which I nearly forgot: the self-conceited man’s statement following what has been quoted from him above: