of your good deeds will be lost. Woe to you, community of Muhammad! How swiftly you are heading for destruction! These are the Companions of your Prophet, still numerous among you; his garments have not yet worn out, and his vessels have not yet broken. By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, either you are upon a way more rightly guided than the way of Muhammad, or you are opening a door to misguidance!” They said, “By Allah, O Abu Abd al-Rahman, we intended nothing but good.” He said, “How many there are who intend good but never attain it! The Messenger of Allah related to us”—then he mentioned the hadith—“By Allah, I do not know; perhaps most of them will be among you!” Then he turned away from them.
Amr ibn Salamah said: “We saw most of those circles attacking us with spears on the Day of Nahrawan alongside the Kharijites.”
I say: The wording is al-Darimi’s, and it is more complete, except that he does not include in the text of the hadith: “They pass through … their quarry.” This chain of transmission is authentic, except that the wording “Umar ibn Yahya” is, I believe, an error by the copyists. The correct name is “Amr ibn Yahya,” namely Amr ibn Yahya ibn Amr ibn Salamah ibn al-Harith al-Hamdani. (1) Ibn Abi Hatim cited him thus in his book Narrator Criticism and Accreditation (3/1/269), listing among those who narrated from him a number of reliable authorities, including Ibn Uyaynah. He also related that Ibn Ma‘in said of him, “He is acceptable.”
Likewise, he correctly listed him among those who narrated from his father, stating (4/2/176): “Yahya ibn Amr ibn Salamah al-Hamdani, also said to be al-Kindi. He narrated from his father, and Shu‘bah, al-Thawri, al-Mas‘udi, Qays ibn al-Rabi‘, and his son Amr ibn Yahya narrated from him.” He did not mention any narrator criticism or accreditation concerning him. Yet Shu‘bah’s narration from him is sufficient accreditation, for Shu‘bah was selective regarding the men from whom he narrated, as is mentioned in his biographical entry. Nor is it unlikely that he is mentioned in