I say: As you have learned, Abu Ya‘la’s narration is the same as al-Bayhaqi’s; both of them revolve around this Sa‘d. Thus, his criticism of al-Suyuti on the basis of what I quoted from him does not amount to much. Moreover, I know of no earlier authority for al-Haythami’s statement: “Sa‘d did not hear from Anas.” Rather, Abu Dawud said: “I asked Ahmad ibn Salih, ‘Did Sinan ibn Sa‘d—who is Sa‘d ibn Sinan, as both names are used for him—hear from Anas?’ He became angry because of the great esteem in which he held Sa‘d.”

1796 — “Three things are incumbent upon every Muslim: bathing on Friday, using the tooth-stick, and applying some perfume, if he can find any.”

Ahmad (4/34) and Ibn Abi Shaybah, in al-Musannaf (1/201/1), narrated it through Shu‘bah, from Sa‘d ibn Ibrahim, who said: “I heard Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Thawban narrating from a man of the Ansar, from one of the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that he said”—then he cited it as attributed to the Companion. This is how Shu‘bah narrated it.

Sufyan al-Thawri differed from him, narrating: from Sa‘d ibn Ibrahim, from Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Thawban, from a man of the Ansar who was among the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said—and then he cited it as attributed to the Prophet. Ahmad narrated it: ‘Abd al-Rahman narrated to us, from Sufyan, with this chain. Waki‘ also followed Sufyan in this. Ahmad likewise narrated it (5/363).

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission, for all its narrators are trustworthy and are narrators for both al-Bukhari and Muslim. The anonymity of a Companion causes no harm, and Sufyan had a stronger memory than Shu‘bah. It also has corroborating reports, including one from Thawban, attributed to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with the same wording. Al-Bazzar narrated it (no. 624) through Yazid ibn Rabi‘ah, from Abu al-Ash‘ath, from Abu ‘Uthman, from him.