I say: This is a chain of transmission whose narrators are trustworthy and among Muslim’s transmitters, apart from ʿAbd Allah al-Yashkuri. I have found no biographical notice for him in the books on narrator criticism except in Taʿjil al-Manfaʿah, which adds nothing beyond the statement: “He is not well-known.” Al-Haythami said in al-Majmaʿ (1/43): “Ahmad and al-Tabarani in al-Kabir narrated it. Its chain includes ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi ʿAqil al-Yashkuri, and I have not seen anyone other than his son al-Mughirah ibn ʿAbd Allah narrate from him.”

It has a strong corroborating report. ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad said in Zawaʾid al-Musnad (4/76): Abu Salih, al-Hakam ibn Musa, told me: ʿIsa ibn Yunus informed us, from al-Aʿmash, from ʿAmr ibn Murrah, from al-Mughirah ibn Saʿd, from his father or his paternal uncle, who said: “I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at al-Gharqad and took hold of the reins, or the halter, of his she-camel. I was pushed away from him, whereupon he said: ‘Leave him; he has a need for which he has come.’ I said: ‘Tell me of a deed that will bring me near to Paradise and keep me far from the Fire.’ He raised his head toward the sky and then said: ‘Though you have put your request briefly, you have asked for something momentous—or extensive: worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him; establish the prayer; give zakah; perform Hajj to the House; fast Ramadan; treat people as you would like them to treat you, and spare people whatever you dislike for yourself. Let go of the camel’s reins.’”

I say: This is a good chain of transmission. All its narrators are trustworthy and among Muslim’s transmitters, except al-Mughirah ibn Saʿd, who is Ibn al-Akhram al-Taʾi. A number of trustworthy narrators reported from him, and al-ʿIjli said: “A Kufan, trustworthy.” Ibn Hibban included him among the trustworthy narrators. Concerning this hadith, al-Haythami said: “ʿAbd Allah narrated it in his additions, and al-Tabarani in al-Kabir, through several chains. The narrators of some of them are trustworthy, though Yahya ibn ʿIsa is considerably weak.”

I say: As you have seen, ʿAbd Allah’s chain is free of him, and it is good, as I have explained. It would therefore have been more appropriate for al-Haythami to discuss it and clarify its status, rather than be diverted from it by the weak route. It also has another corroborating report from the hadith of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari.