I say: This is a chain of transmission whose narrators are trustworthy, apart from this Amrah, who is unknown. In her biographical notice, Ibn Sa'd cited this hadith and added nothing further. Ibn Khuzaymah narrated from her in his Sahih either this hadith or another.
However, Ahmad also recorded it (6/145): Yazid narrated to us; Ja'far ibn Kaysan informed us. Yahya ibn Ishaq and Affan related it with the same meaning—this being Yazid's wording—and they did not differ regarding either the chain of transmission or the meaning. The two of them said: Ja'far ibn Kaysan al-Adawi informed us; Mu'adhah bint Abd Allah al-Adawiyyah narrated to us. She said: “I entered ...” the hadith.
Thus, this version names her as “Mu'adhah bint Abd Allah.” This is an error, though I do not know from whom it originated. For when al-Hafiz included Ibn Kaysan's biography in al-Ta'jil, he did not list this Mu'adhah among his teachers. Imam Ahmad expressly stated that they did not differ concerning its chain of transmission, and he cited it from Yahya ibn Ishaq in two places, as mentioned above, in the correct form. Allah knows best.
Then I found that Ahmad narrated it through the route of Yahya ibn Ishaq ... from Mu'adhah. It therefore appears that Ja'far ibn Kaysan received it from both her and Amrah. Allah knows best. Mu'adhah bint Abd Allah al-Adawiyyah was trustworthy and among the narrators whose reports are found in the two Sahihs.
The hadith also has a supporting narration from Jabir, attributed to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with the wording: “One who flees from the plague is like one who flees from battle, and one who remains patient in it is like one who remains patient in battle.” Ahmad (3/324) and Abd ibn Humayd (144/2) recorded it through Amr ibn Jabir al-Hadrami, from him. In another version recorded by Ahmad (3/352 and 360), the wording is: “... and the one who remains patient in it has the reward of a martyr,” in place of, “and one who remains patient in it is like one who remains patient in battle.” This Amr ibn Jabir is weak, as stated in al-Taqrib, but the report is strengthened by what precedes it. In sum, if the hadith is not authentic, it is at least good. Allah knows best.
- “When Allah, Most High, speaks revelation, the inhabitants of heaven hear a ringing sound in heaven, like that of a chain dragged across smooth rock, and they fall unconscious. They remain thus until Gabriel comes to them. Then, when Gabriel comes to them, terror is removed from their hearts. He said: They say, ‘O Gabriel, what did your Lord say?’ He replies, ‘The truth.’ They say, ‘The truth, the truth.’”