1170 — “Go out to him, for he does not know how to seek permission properly. Tell him to say: ‘Peace be upon you. May I enter?’”

Ahmad (5/368 and 369) and Abu Dawud (2/339) recorded it through Shu‘bah, from Mansur, from Rib‘i ibn Hirash, from a man of Banu ‘Amir: “He sought permission to enter upon the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, saying, ‘May I enter?’ The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to his attendant …” and then mentioned it.

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission. Its narrators are trustworthy and are among the narrators of the two Sahih collections, apart from the man of Banu ‘Amir, who was not named. This does not impair it, however, since he was a Companion, and all the Companions are upright. Abu al-Ahwas also corroborated him from Mansur with the same report; Abu Dawud recorded it. Jarir likewise corroborated him from Mansur; al-Bukhari recorded it in al-Adab al-Mufrad (1084).

1171 — “Gabriel had just left me and informed me that al-Husayn would be killed by the bank of the Euphrates.”

Ahmad (1/85) recorded it from ‘Abd Allah ibn Nujayy, from his father, who said that he travelled with ‘Ali and was in charge of his ablution water. When he came alongside Naynawa, while heading for Siffin, ‘Ali called out: “Be patient, Abu ‘Abd Allah! Be patient, Abu ‘Abd Allah, by the bank of the Euphrates!” I said, “What is it?” He replied: “One day, I entered upon the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and his eyes were overflowing. I said, ‘O Prophet of Allah, has someone angered you? Why are your eyes overflowing?’ He said, ‘Rather, [Gabriel] had just …’ He then said: ‘Would you like me to let you smell some of his soil?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ So he stretched out his hand, took a handful of earth, and gave it to me; and I could not keep my eyes from overflowing.”

I say: This chain of transmission is weak. Nujayy, ‘Abd Allah’s father, is unknown, as al-Dhahabi stated. No one declared him trustworthy except Ibn Hibban, while his son is better known than he is. Whoever has declared this chain authentic has erred.