Ismaʿil ibn ʿAyyash, from Ibn Harmalah—that is, ʿAbd al-Rahman—from Saʿid ibn al-Musayyib, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, passed by some people who were shooting and said…” and he cited it.

I say: The narrators in this chain are trustworthy, except that Ibn ʿAyyash has been deemed weak in his narrations from the people of the Hijaz, and this is one such narration, for ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Harmalah was Medinan; he was truthful, though he sometimes erred. Nevertheless, the hadith is authentic, for it has another route: Muhammad ibn ʿAmr narrated it from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came out to some men of Aslam who were shooting and said”—then he cited it—“Shoot! I am with Ibn al-Adraʿ.” The people then lowered their bows and said, “Whoever he supports will prevail.” He said: “Shoot, for I am with all of you.” Ibn Hibban (1646) and al-Hakim (2/94) narrated it. Al-Hakim said: “Authentic according to the conditions of Muslim,” and al-Dhahabi agreed with him.

It is supported by the hadith of Ziyad ibn al-Husayn, from Abu al-ʿAliyah, from Ibn ʿAbbas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, passed by a group who were shooting and said: ‘Shoot, O sons of Ishmael…’” Ibn Majah (2/189), Ahmad (1/364), and al-Hakim narrated it. Al-Hakim said: “Authentic according to the conditions of Muslim,” and al-Dhahabi agreed with him, as he rightly did.

It has another supporting narration in al-Bukhari’s Book of Jihad and in Ahmad’s Musnad (4/50), through Yazid ibn Abi ʿUbayd, who said: Salamah ibn al-Akwaʿ told me: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came out to some men of Aslam…” the hadith. Al-Hakim also narrated it through another route from Salamah, with the addition: “They continued shooting for most of that day, then dispersed evenly matched, with neither side outshooting the other.”

1440 — “I was shown what my community will encounter after me, and some of them shedding…”