1094 — “If any one of you goes out to the mosque, let her not apply perfume.”

Ahmad (6/363), Ibn Sa‘d (8/290), al-Nasa’i (2/283), and Ibn ‘Asakir (17/274/1) narrated it from Bukayr ibn ‘Abdullah, from Busr ibn Sa‘id, from Zaynab al-Thaqafiyyah, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said this. The wording of al-Nasa’i and Ibn Sa‘d is: “If a woman goes out for the late-night ‘Isha’ prayer, let her not apply perfume.” In another wording recorded by Ahmad and al-Nasa’i: “If any one of you attends the ‘Isha’ prayer, let her not apply perfume.” Muslim also narrated it (2/33). A corroborating report with similar wording has already appeared under no. (1031).

1095 — “O Abu Umamah, among the believers are those whose hearts incline tenderly toward me.”

Imam Ahmad (5/267) narrated it: Haywah—that is, Ibn Shurayh—narrated to us; Baqiyyah narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Ziyad narrated to us; Abu Rashid al-Hubrani narrated to me: Abu Umamah al-Bahili took hold of my hand and said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, took hold of my hand and said to me—then he mentioned it.

I say: This is a good chain of transmission. All its narrators are well-known and trustworthy, among the narrators included in al-Tahdhib. The only concern with Baqiyyah—who is Baqiyyah ibn al-Walid al-Himsi—is his ambiguous use of “from” in transmission; but we are free of that concern here, because he explicitly stated that he heard it directly. Ibn ‘Asakir likewise narrated it in The History of Damascus (19/23/2) through Ahmad ibn al-Faraj, who reported from Baqiyyah ibn al-Walid with this chain, except that he said, “His heart is tender toward me,” in place of, “His heart inclines tenderly toward me.” However, Ahmad ibn al-Faraj is weak, so his contradiction of a trustworthy narrator such as Haywah ibn Shurayh carries no weight.