I say: Its chain of transmission is authentic; all its narrators are trustworthy, and Mahmud ibn Labid was a young Companion. The hadith also has a corroborating report narrated by ‘Amir ibn Sa‘d from his father, traced back to the Prophet. Ibn Sa‘d recorded it (3/429), but his shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Umar—al-Waqidi—is abandoned. He then narrated (3/429–430) another corroborating report for it in a mursal report from Sa‘d ibn Ibrahim. Its chain is good.

1159 — “Whenever he went to relieve himself, he would go far away.”

It was recorded by Abu Dawud (1/2), al-Nasa’i (1/8–9), al-Tirmidhi (1/32), al-Darimi (1/169), Ibn Majah (1/139), and al-Hakim (1/140), through Muhammad ibn ‘Amr, from Abu Salamah, from al-Mughirah ibn Shu‘bah, with this wording. Al-Tirmidhi said: “A good, authentic hadith.” Al-Hakim said: “Authentic according to Muslim’s criteria,” and al-Dhahabi agreed with him.

I say: No; rather, its chain is only good, because Muhammad ibn ‘Amr had some weakness in his retention. Muslim only narrated from him in corroboration. Nevertheless, the hadith is authentic, for it has another route and corroborating reports. Thus, al-Darimi, as well as Ahmad (4/244), recorded it through Muhammad ibn Sirin, from ‘Amr ibn Wahb al-Thaqafi, from al-Mughirah, with the same report. The wording in the former is: “Whenever he went to relieve himself, he would withdraw.” Its chain is authentic; its narrators are among those of the Six Books, apart from ‘Amr ibn Wahb, whom al-Nasa’i, Ibn Hibban, al-‘Ijli, and Ibn Sa‘d declared trustworthy. Ahmad’s wording is similar, in the account concerning wiping over the leather socks.

Among its corroborating reports is the hadith of ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Qurad, who said: “I went out with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, to answer the call of nature. Whenever he wished to relieve himself, he would go far away.” It was recorded by al-Nasa’i and Ahmad (3/443 and 4/224), through Abu Ja‘far al-Khatmi, ‘Umayr ibn Yazid, who said: Al-Harith ibn Fudayl and ‘Umarah ibn Khuzaymah ibn Thabit informed me, from him. This is an authentic chain.

Another is narrated by Jabir with the wording: “Whenever he wished to defecate, he would go off until no one could see him.” It was recorded by Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, and al-Hakim through Isma‘il ibn ‘Abd al-Malik, from Abu al-Zubayr, from him. This is a weak chain, because Isma‘il ibn ‘Abd al-Malik—who is Ibn Abi al-Sufayr—was truthful but frequently erred, and Abu al-Zubayr practised tadlis and narrated it with an ambiguous ‘from’ formula. However, the hadith is authentic by virtue of the corroborating reports mentioned before it. Al-Bayhaqi also recorded it (1/93).