“Allah has left no excuse for a servant whom He keeps alive until he reaches sixty or seventy years of age; Allah has indeed left him no excuse.”

Al-Hafiz said: “This unidentified man is Ma‘n ibn Muhammad al-Ghifari, so it constitutes a strong corroboration for ‘Amr ibn ‘Ali. Al-Isma‘ili recorded it by another route from Ma‘mar.”

I say: Al-Hakim also recorded it by way of Mutarrif ibn Mazin: Ma‘mar ibn Rashid narrated to us, saying: I heard Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Ghifari, from al-Muqbiri, with it. He made no comment on it. However, this Mutarrif is suspect. As for the corroborating narration of Abu Hazim—who was Salamah ibn Dinar—Ahmad recorded it (2/417): Qutaybah narrated to us; Ya‘qub narrated to us, from Abu Hazim, from Sa‘id ibn Abi Sa‘id al-Muqbiri, with it. Its wording is: “Whomever Allah grants sixty years of life, Allah has left him no excuse in respect of his lifespan.” Al-Isma‘ili also recorded it, as did al-Tha‘labi in his exegesis (3/158/2), by way of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Abi Hazim, who said: My father narrated to me, with it.

I say: Its chain of transmission is authentic according to the criteria of al-Bukhari and Muslim. As for the corroborating narration of Ibn ‘Ajlan, Ahmad also recorded it (2/320) by way of Sa‘id ibn Abi Ayyub: Muhammad ibn ‘Ajlan narrated to me, from Sa‘id ibn Abi Sa‘id, with it. Al-Khatib also recorded it in al-Tarikh (1/290) by this route.

Al-Layth ibn Sa‘d also corroborated it, from Sa‘id al-Muqbiri, with the wording: “When a man of my Ummah reaches sixty years of age, Allah has left him no excuse in respect of his lifespan.” Al-Hakim recorded it by way of ‘Abd Allah ibn Salih: al-Layth narrated to us, with it. He said: “Authentic according to al-Bukhari’s criteria.” Al-Dhahabi concurred.

The hadith also has a supporting narration from Sahl ibn Sa‘d, traced back to the Prophet, with the wording: “Whomever among my Ummah is granted seventy years of life, Allah has left him no excuse in respect of his lifespan.” Al-Hakim recorded it (2/428) by way of Sulayman ibn Harb: Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us, from Abu Hazim, from him. He said: “Authentic according to the criteria of al-Bukhari and Muslim.” Al-Dhahabi concurred, and this assessment is correct.