Therefore, this particular narration of his is anomalous—if not rejected—because it contradicts trustworthy narrators. The strongest of the preceding versions, as it appears to us, is the first, since Hisham ibn ʿUrwah is trustworthy. He was corroborated in al-Bukhari’s Book of Virtues by ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Abi Salamah, and in the Books of Jihad and Military Expeditions by Sufyan al-Thawri; both narrated it from Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir. Ahmad likewise recorded it from both of them (3/338 and 365).

They were corroborated in Ahmad (3/307) by Sufyan ibn ʿUyaynah, from Ibn al-Munkadir, with the same report. Wahb ibn Kaysan also corroborated them in Ahmad (3/314). He said: “I bear witness that Jabir ibn ʿAbd Allah related to me,” then cited it as a report attributed to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with the same wording. None of these chains contains the phrase “the son of my paternal aunt” except the first and second routes; this additional wording is therefore also authentic. ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAqil also corroborated it from Jabir, with the wording of the second route but without “the son of my paternal aunt.” Al-Tabarani recorded it (227). He then recorded, in support of it, a similar report from ʿAli (228 and 243).

1878 — “Insulting a believer is like standing on the brink of destruction.”

Al-Bazzar recorded it (p. 246) from Yahya ibn Sulayman: ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi narrated to us. He said: I heard al-Aʿmash and al-ʿAla ibn al-Musayyab relate from Khaythamah ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman, from ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr, who attributed it to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

I say: This is a good chain of transmission. Its narrators are trustworthy and are among al-Bukhari’s narrators, although scholars have criticised Ibn Sulayman’s memory. Al-Dhahabi said: “Al-Bukhari and a group narrated from him. Some hadith masters declared him trustworthy, while Abu Hatim said: ‘A shaykh’; al-Nasaʾi said: ‘He is not trustworthy’; and Ibn Hibban said: ‘He would occasionally narrate unusual reports.’”