“There is no problem with him.” Ibn Hibban also declared him trustworthy.

Shuʿbah corroborated him, but omitted Thabit ibn al-Simt from the chain of transmission and said, “From a man among the Companions of the Prophet” in the second narration.

Al-Nasa’i (2 / 330) and Ahmad (4 / 237) recorded it. Its chain of transmission is sound, and it is sounder than the first narration.

It was also narrated from Abu Bakr ibn Hafs through another route: Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab, Abu Shihab, from Abu Ishaq al-Shaybani, from Abu Bakr ibn Hafs, from Ibn ʿUmar, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ—then he mentioned the hadith.

Al-Khatib recorded it in Tarikh Baghdad (6 / 205).

I say: Its narrators are trustworthy, except for this Abu Shihab, whom I do not know.

The hadith also has a supporting narration transmitted by Saʿid ibn Abi Hilal from Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Muslim, who related that Abu Muslim al-Khawlani performed Hajj and entered upon ʿA’ishah, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ. She began asking him about Syria and its cold, and he began telling her about it. She said, “How do you endure its cold?” He replied, “O Mother of the Believers, they have a beverage they drink called ṭilāʾ.” She said, “Allah has spoken the truth, and my beloved has conveyed it. I heard my beloved Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:

‘There are people from my ummah who drink wine and call it by another name.’

Al-Hakim (2 / 147) and al-Bayhaqi (7 / 294–295) recorded it.

Al-Hakim said, “It is authentic according to the criteria of al-Bukhari and Muslim.”

Al-Dhahabi objected to this, saying:

“I say: This is how he stated it: ‘Muhammad.’ Thus, Muhammad is unknown, even if he was al-Zuhri’s nephew