al-Banna informed us of it, except that he gave Musa al-Siraj the kunyah Abu al-Qasim—and this is correct, for al-Khatib gave him this kunyah in his biography (13/64) and deemed him trustworthy. Ibn Hasnun al-Narsi was Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad. Al-Khatib discussed him in his biography (1/356) and said: “We received hadith from him. He was truthful, trustworthy, devoted to the Quran, and sound in creed.” The remaining narrators in the chain are known and trustworthy, so it is an authentic chain. And Allah knows best.

1276 — “Give the adhan in paired phrases and the iqamah in single phrases.”

Al-Daraqutni narrated it in al-Afrad (no. 50, vol. 2) through the route of Amir ibn Sayyar: Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik narrated to us; Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir narrated to us, from Jabir, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said it. He said: “It is singular among the reports of Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir from Jabir. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik al-Ansari alone narrated it, and we know of no one other than Amir ibn Sayyar who narrated it from him.”

I say: A number of trustworthy narrators transmitted from him, and Ibn Hibban mentioned him in al-Thiqat, saying, “He would sometimes relate singular reports,” as cited in al-Mizan. As for Ibn Abi Hatim, he reported from his father (3/1/322): “He is unknown.”

It is corroborated by what al-Khatib narrated (4, 434) through the route of Ahmad ibn Abd al-Rahim al-Hawti: Yahya ibn Yazid al-Khawwas narrated to us; Hammad narrated to us, from Khalid al-Hadhdha, from Abu Qilabah, from Anas ibn Malik, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said it to Bilal.

I say: I did not identify al-Khawwas or al-Hawti, but the hadith is authentic, for it is found in the two Sahihs and elsewhere through routes from Khalid with the wording: “Bilal was commanded to give the adhan in paired phrases and the iqamah in single phrases.” A Companion’s statement, “He was commanded,” has the status of a report attributed to the Prophet, as is established in the principles of legal theory. Moreover, al-Hakim narrated it (1/198), explicitly attributing it to the Prophet, through the route of Abd al-Wahhab al-Thaqafi, from Ayyub, from Abu Qilabah, with the wording: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, commanded Bilal to give the adhan in paired phrases and the iqamah in single phrases.” He said: “Authentic according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs.” Al-Dhahabi concurred with him, and it is as they said.