“Rights will surely be restored to their rightful owners on the Day of Resurrection, until redress is given to the hornless sheep against the horned sheep.” Muslim narrated it (8/18/19), as did al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad (183), al-Tirmidhi (2/68), Ahmad (2/235 and 323), and Ibn Abi al-Dunya in al-Ahwal (91/2). Al-Tirmidhi said: “It is a good, authentic hadith. There are also reports on this subject from Abu Dharr and Abd Allah ibn Unays.”

The second: from Wasil, from Yahya ibn Uqayl, from him, attributed to the Prophet, with the wording: “All creatures will exact redress from one another, even the hornless from the horned, and even the tiny ant from another tiny ant.” Ahmad narrated it (2/363).

I say: Its chain of transmission is authentic according to Muslim’s criteria. I then found a third route for it, narrated by Ibn Lahiʿah, from Darraj Abu al-Samh, from Abu Hujayrah, from him, attributed to the Prophet, with the wording: “Indeed, by Him in Whose Hand is my soul, everything will dispute with everything else on the Day of Resurrection, even two sheep over what they butted one another over.” Ahmad narrated it (2/390). Its chain is good as a corroborating report. Al-Mundhiri was overly lenient when he said in al-Targhib (4/201): “Ahmad narrated it with a good chain of transmission.”

I say: How could that be, when it contains Darraj Abu al-Samh, who has objectionable reports, and Ibn Lahiʿah narrates from him, though he had poor retention? Moreover, he was inconsistent in its chain of transmission: at one time he narrated it in this manner, and at another he said: Darraj narrated to us from Abu al-Haytham, from Abu Saʿid al-Khudri, with the same report.