Ibn ʿAsakir narrated it in this manner. In al-Mizan (The Balance), Ahmad ibn Sulayh is mentioned as follows:

“Ahmad ibn Sulayh, from Dhu al-Nun al-Misri, from Malik”—then he cited it and said—“This is an error, and Ahmad is not dependable.”

I say: I do not know whether the statement in al-Tarikh (The History), “... ibn Waddah informed us; Muhammad ibn Qatan informed us,” contains an error by the copyist, the original being “Ibn Waddah ibn Muhammad ibn Qatan,” or whether there is some error in the transmission of al-Mizan. Allah knows best. Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Umari al-Madani also narrated it from Malik ibn Anas, with the same wording. Ibn ʿAsakir narrated it. Ibn Hibban said of this al-Umari: “It is not permissible to cite him as evidence.”

1234 — “No man who believes in Allah and the Last Day hates the Ansar.”

Muslim (1/60), al-Tayalisi (p. 290, no. 2182), and Ahmad (3/34, 45, and 93) narrated it from Abu Saʿid al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him. Muslim and Ahmad (2/419) narrated it from Abu Hurayrah; and al-Tirmidhi (2/320) and Ahmad (1/309) narrated it from Sufyan, from Habib ibn Abi Thabit, from Saʿid ibn Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas. Al-Tirmidhi said: “Good and authentic.”

I say: Its narrators are the narrators of the two Sahih collections, but Habib ibn Abi Thabit frequently practised concealment in transmission, as stated in al-Taqrib, and here he relates it using the ambiguous “from” formula. However, it is strengthened by the chains preceding it. A similar report concerning the Arabs in general has also been narrated, but it is not authentic. Its wording is: “None hates the Arabs except a hypocrite.” Abdullah ibn al-Imam narrated it in Zawaʾid al-Musnad (vol. 2, no. 614), through Ismaʿil ibn ʿAyyash, from Zayd ibn Jubayrah, from Dawud ibn al-Husayn, from ʿUbaydullah ibn Abi Rafiʿ, from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, attributed to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

This is a very weak chain of transmission. Zayd ibn Jubayrah is abandoned, as stated in al-Majmaʿ (10/53) and al-Taqrib; he was Medinan, and Ismaʿil ibn ʿAyyash is weak when reporting from the Hijazis. It was also narrated on the authority of Ibn Umar, with the wording: