“…Sharḥabīl ibn Sharīk narrated to us that he had heard Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ḥublī relating it from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, as a report traced back to the Prophet (marfūʿ).

That is the way all of them transmitted it from the two sheikhs—except that al-Tirmidhī omitted Ibn Lahiʿah, and al-Ḥākim did likewise, but he also altered the chain, saying:

‘…Ḥaywah ibn Shurayḥ related to me; Sharḥabīl ibn Muslim narrated to me from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr.’

Thus he replaced Sharḥabīl ibn Muslim for Sharḥabīl ibn Sharīk and dropped Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ḥublī from the isnād; that, may Allah have mercy on him, is one of his slips. He then committed another error by declaring, ‘A sound ḥadīth according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs,’ and al-Dhahabī agreed with him!

I say: neither of the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhārī and Muslim) recorded anything from Ibn Muslim, whereas Ibn Sharīk is a narrator whom Muslim alone relied upon—and both men are trustworthy. Ibn Bishrān, immediately after citing the report, stated, ‘A ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth; every transmitter in its chain is reliable,’ and that is indeed the case. Al-Tirmidhī commented, ‘A ḥadīth that is good and singular (ḥasan gharīb).’

104 — ‘Satan said, “By Your might, my Lord, I shall not cease to mislead Your servants for as long as their souls remain within their bodies.” The Lord replied, “By My might and My majesty, I shall never stop forgiving them so long as they seek My forgiveness.”’

Al-Ḥākim (4/261) and al-Bayhaqī in Al-Asmāʾ (p. 134) narrated it through the route of ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith, from Dirāj, from Abū al-Haytham, from Abū Saʿīd—may Allah be pleased with him—that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)