It was recorded by Abu Dawud (3688); by al-Bukhari in al-Tarikh al-Kabir (1/1/305 and 4/1/222); by Ibn Majah (4020); by Ibn Hibban (1384); by al-Bayhaqi (8/295 and 10/231); by Ahmad (5/342); by al-Tabarani in al-Muʿjam al-Kabir (1/167/2); and by Ibn ʿAsakir (16/115/2) – all of them through the chain of Muʿawiyah ibn Salih from Hatim with the same wording.

I say: Its transmitters are trustworthy except for Malik ibn Abi Maryam. Al-Dhahabi remarked, “He is unknown,” whereas Ibn Hibban graded him reliable according to his well-known lenient criterion.

This, then, is the defect in the isnad. Al-Mundhiri, however, declared it faulty in his Mukhtasar (5/271) with the words: “In its chain is Hatim ibn Hurayth al-Taʾi of Homs. Abu Hatim al-Razi was asked about him and said, ‘A shaykh,’ and Ibn Maʿin said, ‘I do not know him.’”

I respond: Others did know him. ʿUthman ibn Saʿid al-Darimi said, “Reliable.” Ibn Hibban listed him in al-Thiqat, and Ibn ʿAdi said, “Because his narrations are few Ibn Maʿin was unfamiliar with him, yet I hope there is nothing objectionable in him.”

Accordingly, criticising the isnad on account of his teacher Malik ibn Abi Maryam – as we have done – is the sounder course, for no one besides Ibn Hibban vouched for him, as noted above.

Moreover, the versions of Ibn Majah, al-Bayhaqi, and Ibn ʿAsakir contain the additional wording: “Music will be played above their heads with instruments and female singers; Allah will cause the earth to swallow them, and He will transform some of them into apes and swine.”

The ḥadith in its entirety is authentic, and the main text has already been supported by corroborating reports.