al-Bazzar, for he stated: “Ibrahim ibn Aʿyun.” His chain is as follows (p. 218 of his Zawaʾid): Ahmad ibn Aban al-Qurashi narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us: Ibrahim ibn Aʿyun narrated to us, from al-Hakam ibn Aban ...

I have not found a biographical notice for this Ahmad ibn Aban; thus, his narration is rejected because it contradicts the reliable narrators. Moreover, Ibrahim ibn Aʿyun is also weak. Hafs ibn ʿUmar al-ʿAdani corroborated him, narrating it from al-Hakam ibn Aban. Al-Hakim recorded it, but al-Dhahabi rejected it, saying: “I say: Hafs is very weak.”

However, al-Bazzar also narrated the hadith on the authority of Abu Dharr and ʿUtbah ibn al-Naḍr, while Ibn Jarir narrated it through the mursal reports of Muhammad ibn Kaʿb al-Qurazi and Mujahid. These are mutually reinforcing chains, as Ibn Kathir said in his Tafsir (6/335); thus, taken together, the hadith is strong. Ibn Jarir also narrated it from Ibn ʿAbbas with an authentic chain, attributed to the Companion; this strengthens the report attributed to the Prophet, since it has the same ruling. And Allah knows best.

1881 — “I asked my Lord for those occupied with play, and He granted them to me.” I asked: “Who are those occupied with play?” He replied: “The offspring of mankind.”

Al-Mukhallis (9/23–24) narrated it from Ahmad ibn Yusuf al-Taghlibi, who said: Safwan ibn Salih narrated to us; al-Walid narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Hassan al-Kattani narrated to us; Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir narrated to us from Anas, attributed to the Prophet. Al-Diyaʾ also narrated it through al-Mukhallis in al-Mukhtarah (224/1).

I say: This is a weak chain. Its narrators are trustworthy, but al-Walid—who is Ibn Muslim—and Safwan both used to conceal weak intermediaries in transmission. It will shortly be mentioned that there is a weak narrator between Ibn al-Munkadir and Anas, so it appears that one of them omitted him.