1772 — “The heart of the son of Adam is more changeable than a pot when it reaches a full boil.”

Ahmad (4/4) narrated: Hashim ibn al-Qasim narrated to us; al-Faraj narrated to us; Sulayman ibn Sulaym narrated to us, who said: Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad said: “I do not speak well or ill of any man until I see how his life is concluded”—meaning, because of something he had heard from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. He was asked, “What did you hear?” He replied: “I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say…” and then cited the hadith.

I say: This chain of transmission is interrupted. Its narrators are trustworthy except al-Faraj, who is Ibn Fadalah, for he is weak. However, he was corroborated, as will follow. Baqiyyah also narrated it from him, adding to its chain of transmission: Al-Faraj ibn Fadalah narrated to me; Sulayman ibn Sulaym narrated to me from Yahya ibn Jabir, from al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad, to the same effect.

It was narrated by al-Muhamili in the fourth part of al-Amali (50/2), and by Abu Muhammad al-Tamādhi in al-Fawa'id (108–109), who said: “This is a Syrian chain of transmission, and al-Faraj ibn Fadalah is subject to criticism.”

I say: Baqiyyah has another chain for it. He said: Abdullah ibn Salim narrated to us, from Abu Salamah Sulayman ibn Sulaym, from Ibn Jubayr, from his father, from al-Miqdad, to the same effect. It was narrated by Ibn Abi Asim in al-Sunnah (no. 226—my edition) and al-Quda'i (fol. 108/2).

I say: Its chain of transmission is authentic, and all its narrators are trustworthy. Baqiyyah explicitly stated direct transmission in it, so we are safe from the harm of his concealment in transmission. Nor was he alone in narrating it: Abdullah ibn Salih said: Mu'awiyah ibn Salih narrated to me, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Jubayr ibn Nufayr, to the same effect. It was narrated by al-Hakim (2/289), Abu al-Qasim al-Hanna'i in the third part of al-Fawa'id (fol. 81/2), Ibn Battah in al-Ibanah (4/18/2), and Ibn Asakir in al-Tarikh (17/76/1). Al-Hakim said: