al-Falaki, in al-Fawa’id (90/1); Abu Tahir ibn Qaydas, in “A Session from the Sessions of Abu al-Qasim al-Lalaka’i” (3/122/2); and al-Diya, in al-Mukhtarah (1/449), all narrated it from Mu’ammal ibn Isma’il: Shu‘bah narrated to us from Ziyad ibn ‘Alaqah, from Usamah ibn Sharik, attributed to the Prophet. Al-Lalaka’i said: “This is a singular hadith from Ziyad ibn ‘Alaqah. We know of no one other than Shu‘bah who narrated it from him, nor anyone other than Mu’ammal who narrated it from Shu‘bah.”

I say: He had poor retention, as stated in al-Taqrib; therefore, the chain of transmission is weak. Perhaps the hadith is from the Israelite traditions, for al-Tabarani transmitted it from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza, who said: “The Prophet David said it,” and then mentioned it. He transmitted it through two chains, the narrators of one of which are narrators of the Sahih collections, as al-Haythami stated in al-Majma‘ (10/234).

Note: The hadith appears in al-Jami‘ al-Saghir and al-Fath al-Kabir ascribed to Ibn Hibban and al-Tirmidhi. Its ascription to al-Tirmidhi is undoubtedly an error, for he did not transmit it. I think that “al-Tirmidhi” was corrupted in some copies, and that the correct reading is “al-Bawardi.” This is likewise how it appears in al-Jami‘ al-Kabir (2/176/2). In al-Manawi, it appears thus: “Ibn Hibban from Usamah ibn Sharik; Ibn ‘Asakir from Anas!” It seems, then, that he—or one of the copyists—confused the source-reference for this hadith with that of the preceding one.

I then found a corroborating mursal narration for the hadith within a report in the Jami‘ of Ibn Wahb (p. 65). Its narrators have been declared trustworthy, except for the teacher of Abu Ishaq al-Sabi‘i, who is unnamed. He was either a Successor or a Companion, and the former is, in my view, more likely, as I explained in the other book (1956). Thus, on account of it, the hadith is good, Allah willing.

1056 — “The best water on the face of the earth is the water of Zamzam: it is nourishing food and a cure for illness. The worst water on the face of the earth is water in the valley of Barhut