He then mentioned a corroborating report for it from the hadith of Sa‘id ibn Zayd, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“There will be tribulations after me, in which there will occur what will occur.” We said, “If we live to see that, we shall perish.” He replied, “The killing of my Companions will suffice them.”
In another version: “People will perish in them with the greatest speed.” He said: “Al-Tabarani narrated it through several chains of transmission; the narrators of one of them are reliable. Al-Bazzar likewise narrated it.”
I say: Ahmad also recorded it (1/189), with the second wording, through ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Maysarah, from Hilal ibn Yasaf, from ‘Abd Allah ibn Zalim, from Sa‘id ibn Zayd, with this wording.
I say: This is a good chain of transmission. Its narrators are reliable and are among Muslim’s narrators, except for ‘Abd Allah ibn Zalim, concerning whom al-Hafiz said: “Truthful; al-Bukhari considered him weak.” ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Maysarah is Abu Zayd al-Hilali al-Zarrad.
His saying, “through several chains of transmission,” involves a misleading leniency, for their common link in al-Tabarani’s al-Kabir (nos. 345–348) is Hilal. So take note.
1347 — “The punishment of this Ummah is by the sword.”
Al-Khatib recorded it (1/317) through al-Mu’ammal, who said: Hammad ibn Salamah narrated to us; Yunus ibn ‘Ubayd narrated to us, from Humayd ibn Hilal, from Nasr ibn ‘Asim, from ‘Uqbah ibn Malik, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said the above.
I say: This is a chain whose narrators are reliable and are among Muslim’s narrators, except for al-Mu’ammal, who is Ibn Isma‘il al-Basri. Al-Hafiz said: “Truthful, but poor in memory.” However, it is supported by the hadith of Abu Burdah, who said: “I left the presence of ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad and saw him administering a severe punishment. I then sat beside a man among the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and he said: ‘The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said the above.’”
Al-Haythami said (7/225): “Al-Tabarani narrated it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.”