ʿAbdullah, from al-Asbagh, from Bahz ibn Hakim, from his father, from his grandfather, attributing it to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with wording like the preceding report, adding: “And it removes poverty.”
It was recorded by al-Tabarani in al-Muʿjam al-Awsat (1/93/1), al-Qudaʿi in Musnad al-Shihab (folio 11/2), and al-Diyaʾ al-Maqdisi in al-Muntaqa min Masmuʿatihi bi-Marw (23/1).
I say: This is a weak chain of transmission. Sadaqah ibn ʿAbdullah—Abu Muʿawiyah al-Samin—is weak, as stated in al-Taqrib. Al-Haythami said (3/115): “It was narrated by al-Tabarani in al-Kabir and al-Awsat, and its chain contains Sadaqah ibn ʿAbdullah. Duhaym declared him trustworthy, while a group deemed him weak.” Al-Mundhiri said (2/31): “There is no harm in it as corroborative evidence.”
I say: But I did not identify his shaykh, al-Asbagh.
- As for the hadith of Anas, it has three chains from him. Al-Tirmidhi graded one of them good, and I have traced them in Irwaʾ al-Ghalil (885); it should be consulted there. In sum, the hadith, on account of its combined chains and corroborating reports, is authentic beyond doubt. Indeed, some later hadith scholars consider it mass-transmitted.
1909 — “The choicest part of Allah’s earth is al-Sham, and within it are His chosen ones among His creation and servants. A company from my Ummah will surely enter Paradise without reckoning or punishment.”
Ibn ʿAsakir recorded it in Tarikh Dimashq (1/107, printed edition), through al-Tabarani. It is found in al-Muʿjam al-Kabir (no. 7796), from Ismaʿil ibn ʿAyyash, from ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn ʿUbaydullah, from al-Qasim, from Abu Umamah, attributing it to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.