I say: This is a very weak chain of transmission. Abu Harun al-‘Abdi is abandoned, and I have not identified al-Harith al-Numayri.
- As for the hadith of ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa ibn Dawud ibn ‘Isa ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib narrated it: “My father, Muhammad ibn ‘Isa, informed us; my grandfather Dawud ibn ‘Isa related to me from his father, ‘Isa ibn ‘Ali, from ‘Ali ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn al-‘Abbas, from Ibn ‘Abbas,” attributing it to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. He added: “Maintaining ties of kinship increases one’s lifespan; acts of kindness protect against evil deaths; and saying, ‘La ilaha illa Allah’ (There is no god worthy of worship but Allah), repels ninety-nine gates of affliction from the one who says it, the least of which is anxiety.”
Ibn ‘Asakir recorded it in Tarikh Dimashq (6/17/2), in the biographical notice of this Dawud ibn ‘Isa. He also mentioned Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Makhzumi, the judge, and Sa‘id ibn ‘Amr among those who narrated from him, and said: “He was appointed governor over the Two Sacred Sanctuaries and entered Damascus.” He then related that he was alive in the year 201 AH, but did not mention any narrator criticism or accreditation concerning him. I have not identified the two narrators below him.
It also has another route, but it is exceedingly weak, with the wording: “Make a practice of acts of kindness, for they prevent evil deaths; and give charity in secret, for it extinguishes the wrath of Allah.” Ibn Abi al-Dunya recorded it in Qada’ al-Hawa’ij, and Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Razi, quoting him, in his Mashyakhah (168/1), through ‘Amr ibn Hashim al-Janbi, from Juwaybir, from al-Dahhak, from Ibn ‘Abbas, attributing it to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. This chain is very weak: Juwaybir is abandoned, and Ibn Hashim is close to him in weakness. Al-Hafiz (the hadith master) said: