It was narrated by Tammam in al-Fawaʾid (3/2): Khaythamah ibn Sulayman reported to us; Abu Jaʿfar Ahmad ibn Hatim al-Qadi, in Samarra, narrated to us; ʿUbayd Allah ibn ʿUmar al-Qawariri narrated to us; Yahya ibn Saʿid al-Qattan narrated to us; ʿAwf narrated to us from Abu Nadrah, from Abu Saʿid al-Khudri, attributed to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
I say: This is a sound chain of transmission. Its narrators are trustworthy and are narrators of Muslim, except Ahmad ibn Hatim al-Qadi al-Samarraʾi. Al-Khatib gave his biographical notice (4/114) and said: “I know nothing of his condition except good.” Khaythamah ibn Sulayman was a trustworthy hadith master.
- “The first prophet to be sent was Noah.”
It was narrated by al-Daylami in his Musnad (1/1/9), and by Ibn ʿAsakir in his History (17/326/2), from Ibrahim ibn Abi Suwayd, who said: Abu ʿAwanah reported to us from Qatadah, from Anas, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said—and he cited it.
I say: This is a weak chain of transmission. Its narrators are trustworthy except for this Ibrahim, who was Ibn al-Fadl al-Makhzumi al-Madani. He was weak—indeed, abandoned. However, the hadith is authentic, for it has a strong supporting narration from Abu Hurayrah, attributed to the Prophet, in the lengthy hadith of intercession. It states: “Then they will come to Noah and say: ‘O Noah, you are the first of the messengers sent to the earth.’” It was recorded by Muslim (1/327) and al-Tirmidhi (2436), who said: “This hadith is good and authentic.”
- “Indeed, when Allah bestows a blessing upon a servant, He loves to see the effect of His blessing upon him.”
It was narrated by Ibn Saʿd (4/291 and 7/10), al-Tahawi in al-Mushkil (4/151), and al-Bayhaqi in al-Shuʿab (2/221/1), from Mufaddal ibn Fudalah, from a man of Quraysh, from Abu Raja al-ʿAtaridi, who said: ʿImran ibn Husayn came out to us wearing a silk cloak such as we had never seen him wear before or after. Then he said—and cited it, attributed to the Prophet.