who said: “Mūsā ibn ʿAlī ibn Rabāḥ narrated to me from his father, from Abū Udhaynah al-Ṣadafī, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said...” and he then cited it.

I say: This chain of transmission consists of trustworthy narrators, although ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ was somewhat weak; however, he has a supporting parallel chain, as will follow. It is disputed whether Abū Udhaynah al-Ṣadafī was a Companion. Al-Baghawī said: “I do not know whether or not he was a Companion.” Ibn al-Sakan said: “He was a Companion.”

I say: An affirmation takes precedence over a negation, and one who possesses knowledge is proof against one who does not. ʿAlī ibn Rabāḥ narrated from, and heard directly from, a number of Companions, such as ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ, Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān, Faḍālah ibn ʿUbayd, and others. Ibn al-Sakan then narrated it through Muḥammad ibn Bakkār ibn Bilāl, from Mūsā ibn ʿAlī ibn Rabāḥ, through the same chain, as stated in al-Iṣābah.

I say: This is a strong supporting parallel chain for ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ through Muḥammad ibn Bakkār, for he was truthful. Thus, the hadith is authentic, particularly since al-Bayhaqī said immediately afterward: “It was also narrated with an authentic chain of transmission from Sulaymān ibn Yasār, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in mursal form, up to the words: ‘if they fear Allah.’”

The first part of it has corroborating reports from the hadith of Anas and others, documented in Ādāb al-Zifāf (pp. 16 and 19). As for the statement, “Those who publicly display their adornment are hypocrites,” it has a strong mursal corroborating report, documented earlier under no. 633. It was also narrated with a connected chain from Ibn Masʿūd, as I explained there.