And in its chain of transmission is ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAqil, who is weak due to his poor memory.

1136 — “The messengers before me were commanded: ‘Eat only what is wholesome, and do only righteous deeds.’”

It was narrated by Ahmad in al-Zuhd (p. 398) and al-Hakim (4/125–126), through Abu Bakr ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Maryam, from Damrah ibn Habib, from Umm ʿAbd Allah, the sister of Shaddad ibn Aws:

“She sent the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, a cup of milk for him to break his fast with, during the long day and intense heat. The Messenger of Allah sent her messenger back, asking, ‘Where did you get this milk?’ She replied, ‘Milk from one of my sheep.’ The Messenger of Allah again sent her messenger back, asking, ‘Where did you get this sheep?’ She said, ‘I bought it with my own money.’ So he drank it. The following day, Umm ʿAbd Allah came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I sent you that milk out of compassion for you because of the long day and intense heat, but you sent the messenger back to me concerning it.’ The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, then mentioned it.”

Al-Hakim said: “Its chain of transmission is authentic.” Al-Dhahabi objected, saying: “I say: Ibn Abi Maryam is very weak.”

I say: It is supported by the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, attributed to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with the wording: “O people, Allah is Pure and accepts only what is pure. Allah commanded the believers with what He commanded the messengers, saying: ‘O messengers, eat of the wholesome things and do righteous deeds. Indeed, I am Knowing of what you do.’ . . .”

The hadith was narrated by Muslim (3/85), al-Tirmidhi (2992), al-Darimi (2/300), and Ahmad (2/328), through Fudayl ibn Marzuq, from ʿAdi ibn Thabit, from Abu Hazim, from Abu Hurayrah, with this wording. I say: Its chain of transmission is good, for Fudayl ibn Marzuq was truthful but prone to error, as al-Hafiz stated in al-Taqrib.