Through this same chain the ḥadith was also recorded by al-Ṭaḥāwī, Abū Yaʿlā (3/17/10), Ibn ʿAdī (129/2), Abū Shaykh in al-ʿAẓama—as cited in al-Laʾālī al-Maṣnūʿa (1/82)—and by Ibn Mardawayh in al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr, with the additional wording: “If He wills, He will bring them out, and if He wills, He will leave them.”

As for the corroborating narration that was mentioned, Abū Shaykh said: “Abū Maʿshar al-Dārimī narrated to us; Hudbah narrated to us; Ḥammād ibn Salama narrated from Yazīd al-Raqāshī the same report.”

Al-Suyūṭī commented, “This is an excellent corroboration,” and he was correct. The chain’s transmitters are reliable, as Ibn ʿIraq states in Tanzīh al-Sharīʿa (1/190, first edition)—meaning everyone except al-Raqāshī, for he is weak, as you already know. Yet his weakness is not severe, so the report is acceptable as supporting evidence. Because of this, Ibn al-Jawzī erred when he included the ḥadith in al-Mawḍūʿāt (Fabrications). Indeed, he contradicted himself, for he also placed it in al-Wāhiyāt, i.e., the weak but not fabricated traditions. All of this was due to his inattention to this authentic report from Abū Hurayrah. Allah alone grants success.

Meaning of the ḥadith:

The ḥadith does not mean—contrary to what first crossed the mind of al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī—that the sun and the moon will be inside the Fire being punished as a penalty inflicted upon them. Far from it! Allah, exalted and sublime, does not punish any of His creatures who obey Him, and that includes the sun and the moon. This is hinted at in His statement: “Do you not see that to Allah prostrate all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth—the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the animals, and many of mankind, while many others are deserving of punishment” (Q 22:18). Thus the Exalted One has informed us that His punishment