from Saʿid ibn Abi Saʿid, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said it, and then mentioned it. Al-Hakim said: “Its chain of transmission is authentic,” and al-Dhahabi concurred. It is as they said, notwithstanding some weakness in Ibn Ishaq.

Al-Tirmidhi also narrated it (3/341): Ali ibn Hujr informed us; Muhammad ibn Ammar informed us; my grandfather Muhammad ibn Ammar and Salih, the client of al-Tawʾamah, informed me from Abu Hurayrah, tracing it back to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with the same wording—except that he did not mention the upper arm. He said: “His thigh will be like al-Bayda, and his seat in the Fire will be a three-day journey, like al-Rabadhah.” He said: “It is a good, singular hadith.”

It is as he said. Although Salih, the client of al-Tawʾamah, is weak, he is paired in the chain with Muhammad ibn Ammar, who is Ibn Saʿd al-Qurazi. A number of trustworthy narrators reported from him, and Ibn Hibban declared him trustworthy. The other Muhammad ibn Ammar is Ibn Hafs ibn Umar ibn Saʿd al-Qurazi, and he is trustworthy.

Ahmad ibn Hatim al-Tawil differed from him and said: “Muhammad ibn Ammar informed us from Salih, from Abu Hurayrah.” Ibn Bishran narrated it in al-Amali (Dictations) (19/2), through Muhammad ibn Bishr ibn Matar, who said: Ahmad ibn Hatim al-Tawil informed us.

I say: I do not know this Ibn Bishr. As for Ibn Hatim, he appears to be al-Saʿdi. Al-Dhahabi said: “Mahmud ibn Hakim al-Mustamli narrated from him a rejected hadith, on the authority of al-Idrisi.”

Abu Salih corroborated him from Abu Hurayrah with the wording: “The thickness of the disbeliever’s skin will be forty-two cubits by the cubit of the Almighty, and his molar will be like Uhud.” Al-Tirmidhi (3/342) and al-Hakim (4/595) narrated it. Al-Hakim said: “It is authentic according to the criteria of al-Bukhari and Muslim,” and al-Dhahabi concurred. It is as they said. Al-Tirmidhi said: