Tuhfah), and Ahmad (2/307, 338, and 453), through Sulayman ibn Yasar, from him. Al-Tirmidhi said: “A good, authentic hadith.” The hadith has two further supporting narrations mentioned earlier under nos. 487 and 488.
- “The prayer most excellent before Allah is the Friday dawn prayer performed in congregation.”
Abu Nuʿaym recorded it in al-Hilyah (7/207): ʿAbdullah ibn Muhammad related to us; Muhammad ibn Yahya related to us; Khalid ibn al-Harith related to us; Shuʿbah related to us, from Yaʿla ibn ʿAta, from al-Walid ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman, that Ibn ʿUmar said to Humran ibn Aban: “What prevented you from praying in congregation?” He replied: “I have prayed the dawn prayer in congregation on Friday.” He said: “Have you not heard that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said”—then he cited it. He also said: “Khalid alone transmitted it as attributed to the Prophet, whereas Ghundar transmitted it as attributed to the Companion.”
I say: Khalid ibn al-Harith—al-Hujaymi, Abu ʿUthman al-Basri—was trustworthy and firmly reliable. Both al-Bukhari and Muslim relied upon him, as stated in al-Taqrib; thus, his addition is acceptable. Ghundar’s transmission of it as attributed to the Companion does not render it defective, especially since it carries the implicit ruling of a report attributed to the Prophet, as this is not something that can be said merely on the basis of personal opinion. All the remaining narrators are trustworthy and are among Muslim’s narrators, apart from Muhammad ibn Yahya, who was Ibn Mandah, Abu ʿAbdullah al-Isbahani. He was a trustworthy hadith master, and has a biography in Akhbar Asbahan (2/222–224), where Abu Nuʿaym cited some hadiths from this shaykh through him. He also has a biography in Tadhkirat al-Huffaz.
ʿAbdullah ibn Muhammad was Ibn Jaʿfar ibn Hayyan, Abu Muhammad, the trustworthy hadith master known as Abu al-Shaykh. Abu Nuʿaym likewise gave his biography (2/90). Thus, the chain of transmission is authentic.