—continued—

He went on to cite the report and then declared, “Its chain of transmission is sound,” a judgement with which al-Dhahabī concurred. This, however, is one of their slips, for al-Ḥākim himself rated Dirāj as weak, as will be explained shortly.

Ibn Laḥīʿah also narrated the ḥadīth from Dirāj but added the words, “and elevate my station.” Al-Baghawī recorded it in Sharḥ al-Sunnah (1/146), and Aḥmad (3/29) related it without that addition. Al-Dhahabī quoted the wording in al-ʿUlūw (p. 116) through this same route, without naming a source, and remarked, “Dirāj is weak.”

I say: In my view, this extra phrase comes from Ibn Laḥīʿah; it is one of his muddled insertions, not from Dirāj, for ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith transmitted the report from him without the addition, as you have seen.

The ḥadīth is further supported by another line of transmission. Imām Aḥmad (3/29/41) related it through Layth, from Yazīd ibn al-Hād, from ʿAmr, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, traced back to the Prophet, with the wording:

“Indeed, Iblīs said to his Lord, ‘By Your might and Your majesty, I shall not cease leading the children of Adam astray so long as their souls remain within them.’ Allah replied, ‘By My might and My majesty, I shall not cease forgiving them so long as they seek My forgiveness.’”

I say: Every transmitter in this chain is trustworthy and is found in the compilations of the two Shaykhs, yet the chain is broken between ʿAmr—namely Ibn Abī ʿAmr, the client of the Muṭṭalib clan—and Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī. The scholars record no narration of ʿAmr from any Companion other than Anas ibn Mālik, and ʿAmr died much later than Abū Saʿīd: the latter passed away in 75 AH according to the most widely held view, whereas ʿAmr died in 92 AH, and some say 93 AH.