reliable, and are among the narrators of the two Shaykhs, apart from Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn Hudhayfah, whom Ibn Hibban mentioned in al-Thiqat. A number of people narrated from him.
The hadith has well-known corroborating reports, some of which have preceded under nos. 143–145.
1166 — “Whoever swears an oath should swear by the Lord of the Ka‘bah.”
Al-Tahawi narrated it in al-Mushkil (1/91), as did Ahmad (6/371, 372), Ibn Sa‘d (8/309), and al-Hakim (4/297), through al-Mas‘udi: Ma‘bad ibn Khalid narrated to me from ‘Abd Allah ibn Yasar, from Qutaylah bint Sayfi al-Juhaniyyah, who said:
“A rabbi came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and said: ‘O Muhammad, you are indeed an excellent people, were it not that you associate partners with Allah!’ He said: ‘Glory be to Allah! How is that?’ He replied: ‘When you swear, you say: “By the Ka‘bah.”’
She said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, paused for a while, then said: ‘He has indeed spoken the truth. Whoever swears an oath should swear by the Lord of the Ka‘bah.’
He said: ‘O Muhammad, you are indeed an excellent people, were it not that you set up a rival alongside Allah!’ He said: ‘Glory be to Allah! How is that?’ He replied: ‘You say: “What Allah wills and what you will.”’
She said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, paused for a while, then said: ‘He has indeed spoken the truth. Whoever says, “What Allah wills,” should add: “then what you will.”’”
I say: Its chain of transmission has trustworthy narrators, except that al-Mas‘udi—who was ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Utbah ibn Mas‘ud—became confused in his later years. Al-Hafiz Burhan al-Din al-Halabi mentioned him in his treatise al-Ightibat bi-Man Rumiya bi-l-Ikhtilat (p. 16). As for al-Hakim, he said: “Its chain of transmission is authentic!” And al-Dhahabi agreed with him! This is strange on his part, for he himself listed this al-Mas‘udi in al-Du‘afa’ and said: “Ibn Hibban said: He was truthful, but became confused toward the end of his life.”
Nevertheless, he was corroborated: al-Nasa’i narrated it (2/140) through Mis‘ar, from Ma‘bad ibn Khalid, with similar wording.