Yazīd ibn Hārūn said: Ḥammād ibn Salamah informed us, from Thābit al-Bunānī, from Anas ibn Mālik, that Ḥārithah ibn Surāqah went out merely to watch, when an arrow struck and killed him. His mother said: “O Messenger of Allah! You know how dear Ḥārithah was to me. If he is in Paradise, I shall be patient; otherwise, you will see what I do!” He then mentioned it, and at its end it states: Yazīd ibn Hārūn was uncertain.

I say: Its chain is authentic according to Muslim’s criteria. Yūsuf ibn ʿAṭiyyah also corroborated it, narrating it to us from Thābit with a more complete version. Ibn Naṣr recorded it in al-Ṣalāh (77/2). However, Yūsuf is abandoned. ʿAffān also corroborated it, narrating to us from Ḥammād ibn Salamah through the same chain, and saying: “And he is indeed in the highest Firdaws,” without expressing any uncertainty. Aḥmad recorded it (3/272). It was also corroborated in his work (3/215 and 282–283) by Sulaymān ibn al-Mughīrah, from Thābit through the same chain. Ibn Ḥibbān (2272) and al-Ḥākim (3/208) authenticated it, and al-Dhahabī concurred with him.

Qatādah also corroborated it from Anas through the same chain. It was recorded by al-Bukhārī (2/204), Ibn Khuzaymah in al-Tawḥīd (Oneness of God) (239), and al-Tirmidhī (2/201), who authenticated it and added at its end: “Firdaws is the elevated region of Paradise, its middle, and its best part.” This is found in one narration of Aḥmad (3/260), but he separated it from the hadith, saying: “Qatādah said”—then he cited it as a separate statement of his own. He did not mention it at all in the other narration (3/210 and 283). Ḥumayd also corroborated it, saying: “I heard Anas narrate it,” without the addition. It was recorded by al-Bukhārī (3/59 and 241) and Aḥmad (3/264).