“My father and al-Fadl ibn Shadhan narrated from him.” My father was asked about him, and he replied: “He is truthful.”

As for Ali ibn Sa'id, he was a well-known hadith master, whose biography appears in al-Mizan, al-Lisan, and other works. There is some minor criticism of him, but it does not lower his hadith below the rank of good.

In sum, Ibn Zurara’s connected report is strengthened by these two corroborating transmissions, especially the latter of them. Thus, the suspicion that he erred in narrating it with a connected chain is dispelled. Were it not for some weakness in Muhammad ibn Amr’s retention, I would have ruled the hadith authentic. Perhaps he himself narrated it with a connected chain on one occasion and as a mursal report, omitting a link, on another; thus, each narrator related what he had heard from him. The ruling is in favor of the additional detail—particularly since the final clause of it, although absent from these two corroborating transmissions, has a supporting report from Zayd ibn Arqam, whose documentation was given earlier under no. 1164. It also has another route from Abu Hurayrah, which I documented in Sahih Abi Dawud (1286).

1995 — “Fatima is a part of me: what distresses her distresses me, and what brings her joy brings me joy. On the Day of Resurrection, all lineages will be severed except my lineage, my ties, and my marital ties.”

Ahmad (4/323) recorded it, and al-Hakim (3/158) through his route, via Abdullah ibn Ja'far: Umm Bakr bint al-Miswar ibn Makhramah narrated to us from Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Rafi', from al-Miswar, that Hasan ibn Husayn sent to him seeking his daughter’s hand in marriage. He said to him: “Tell him to meet me after nightfall.” He met him, and al-Miswar praised Allah and extolled Him. Then he said:

“To proceed: By Allah, there is no blood relationship, bond, or marriage tie dearer to me than my relationship with you by blood and marriage. But the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said”—and he cited it—“and you are married to her daughter. If I were to give you my daughter in marriage, that would distress her.” So he departed, accepting his excuse.

Al-Hakim said: “Its chain of transmission is authentic,” and al-Dhahabi concurred with him! This is astonishing on his part, for this Umm Bakr is unknown, as al-Dhahabi himself attested by listing her in the section on “unknown women” and saying: