“Black seed is a remedy for every illness except al-sām (death).” Qatādah said: “Each day, he should take twenty-one seeds, place them in a piece of cloth and soak them, then instill it into his nostrils: on the first day, two drops in the right nostril and one in the left; on the second, two in the left and one in the right; and on the third, two in the right and one in the left.”

I say: Its chain of transmission to Abū Hurayrah appears to be disconnected, and Qatādah’s statement is a report attributed to a Successor.

It has another corroborating report in the hadith of ʿĀʾishah, attributed to the Prophet, similar to the preceding hadith of Sufyān, except that it incorporates the explanation into the hadith: “That is, death; and the black seed is shūnīz.” Aḥmad reported it (6/138) by way of Abū ʿAqīl, from Bahiyyah, from her. This chain is weak. Al-Bukhārī also reported it (4/52), by another route from her, attributed to the Prophet, without the explanation, except for his words: “I said, ‘What is al-sām?’ He said, ‘Death.’”

1906 — “The elderly man grows older and his body weakens, but his heart remains youthful in its love of two things: a long life and wealth.”

Aḥmad reported it (2/335, 338, and 339) from Fulayḥ, from Hilāl ibn ʿAlī, from ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yasār, from Abū Hurayrah, attributed to the Prophet.

I say: This chain is good for corroborating chains and supporting reports. Its narrators are trustworthy and are among the narrators of both al-Bukhārī and Muslim, except Fulayḥ—who is Ibn Saʿīd—who has been criticized on account of his memory. For this reason, al-Ḥāfiẓ stated in al-Taqrīb: