“Carry on, O Banu Arfidah …” Its transmitters are reliable, except that no transmission from any Companion is recorded for this al-Taymī other than Abū Umāmah ibn Sahl ibn Ḥunayf. He is counted among the Companions and saw the Prophet, though he did not hear from him; thus, I do not think that al-Taymī heard it from her. Nevertheless, taken together, these chains leave no doubt that the hadith is authentic.

Unfamiliar expressions in the hadith:

Al-darkalah: Ibn al-Athīr said: “It is narrated with the dāl pronounced with kasrah, the rā with fatḥah, and the kāf with sukūn; it is also narrated with the dāl pronounced with kasrah, the rā with sukūn, and the kāf with either kasrah or fatḥah. It is also narrated with a qāf in place of the kāf. It is a type of children’s game.” Ibn Durayd said: “I think it is an Abyssinian word.” It was also said to mean dancing.

Banu Arfidah: This is a title for the Abyssinians. It was also said to be the name of their earliest forefather, by which they were known. Its fā is pronounced with kasrah, though it may also be pronounced with fatḥah.

1830 — “The castration of my Ummah is fasting.”

Aḥmad (2 / 173), Ibn ʿAdī (111 / 2), and al-Baghawī in Sharḥ al-Sunnah (3 / 1 / 2) narrated it through Ibn Lahīʿah, who said: Ḥuyayy ibn ʿAbd Allāh narrated to me, from Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ḥublī, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ, that a man came to the Prophet and said: “O Messenger of Allah, will you permit me to castrate myself?” The Prophet then said the above, adding: “and prayer at night.”

I say: This is a weak chain of transmission because of Ibn Lahīʿah’s poor retention. Hadiths conveying the same meaning as this one have also been narrated, but without mention of prayer at night.