Two men erred regarding this hadith: al-Suyuti, followed by al-Manawi. They declared it weak. In Fayd al-Qadir, he said: “The compiler indicated that it is weak, because it contains al-Walid ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman, whom al-Dhahabi listed in al-Duʿafaʾ; and Ibn Maʿin said: ‘He is of no consequence.’”

I say: This al-Walid ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman, whom Ibn Maʿin and then al-Dhahabi declared weak, is not the narrator of this hadith. Rather, he was a shaykh of Muʿtamir ibn Sulayman, as al-Dhahabi explicitly stated in al-Duʿafaʾ (folio 218/1), following Ibn Abi Hatim (4/2/9–10), who related from his father that he said: “He is unknown.”

I say: Muʿtamir ibn Sulayman belonged to the ninth generation-tier in al-Hafiz’s classification, and most of his reports are from the followers of the Successors. He died in 187 AH. Thus, it is highly unlikely that the al-Walid ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman in this hadith is the one deemed weak. The correct identification is that he was al-Walid ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Jurashi al-Himsi, for his biographers mentioned that he narrated from Ibn ʿUmar, Abu Hurayrah, and others, and that Yaʿla ibn ʿAta and others narrated from him. He is therefore certainly this man, and he is trustworthy and among Muslim’s narrators, as previously indicated. Thus, the hadith is authentic—praise be to Allah—after we had nearly fallen into declaring it weak on the basis of those whom we mentioned, before we came upon its chain of transmission in al-Hilyah. So praise be to Allah, by whose favor righteous deeds are brought to completion.

I have also found a supporting narration for it, but it is very weak. I mention it merely for information, not as corroborative evidence. It is narrated by ʿUbayd Allah ibn Zahr, from ʿAli ibn Yazid, from al-Qasim, from Abu Umamah, from Abu ʿUbaydah ibn al-Jarrah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: “Indeed, the most excellent prayer is the dawn prayer on Friday performed in congregation. I do not think that any of you who attends it will be anything but forgiven.” Al-Bazzar recorded it (no. 621, Kashf al-Astar) and said: “To my knowledge, Abu ʿUbaydah alone narrated it.”