with the second wording, which was narrated by Aḥmad (4/120), Abū Dāwūd (5129), and al-Tirmidhī (2/112), who said: “Good and authentic.” Abān ibn Taghlib differed from them, narrating from al-Aʿmash, from Abū ʿAmr al-Shaybānī, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, who mentioned the hadith. It was recorded by al-Kharāʾiṭī (p. 16) and Abū Nuʿaym in al-Ḥilyah (6/266).
I say: Abān ibn Taghlib is trustworthy, and Muslim relied upon him as evidence; but the narration of the group is more sound. (1) Moreover, it has been narrated through another route from Ibn Masʿūd, which follows:
- As for the hadith of Ibn Masʿūd, ʿĪsā ibn al-Mukhtār narrated it from Ibn Abī Laylā, from Fuḍayl ibn ʿAmr, from Abū Wāʾil, from him, traced back to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with the wording cited in the heading. It was recorded by al-Bazzār (no. 154), who said: “We know of no report from ʿAbd Allāh attributed to the Prophet except through this chain of transmission.”
I say: It is weak because of Ibn Abī Laylā’s poor retention.
- As for the hadith of Sahl, al-ʿĀʾishī narrated to us: ʿImrān ibn Yazīd al-Qurashī narrated to us from Abū Ḥāzim, from him, with this wording. It was recorded by al-Ṭaḥāwī, who said: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd narrated to us; al-ʿĀʾishī narrated to us with it.
I say: All its narrators are trustworthy, but its chain is interrupted between al-Qurashī and Abū Ḥāzim, for he narrates only from the Followers of the Followers. Perhaps the intermediary between them was omitted by the typesetter or copyist.