—and he had indeed used an ambiguous “from” formula. Al-Rabiʿ ibn Sabih had poor retention, and I fear that he may have conflated two hadiths. Qatadah narrated it from Anas with the wording: “Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says: ‘I am as My servant expects Me to be, and I am with him when he calls upon Me.’” Ahmad recorded it (3/210, 277) with an authentic chain meeting Muslim’s criteria.

Ahmad then recorded it (3/471, 4/106), through Hibban Abu al-Nadr, from Wathilah ibn al-Asqaʿ, attributed to the Prophet, with the same wording, except that its latter half reads: “So let him think of Me as he wishes.” The other hadith to which I referred is only the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, with the wording: “Allah, Exalted is He, says: ‘I am as My servant expects Me to be, and I am with him when he remembers Me …’” This hadith has already been referenced under the preceding hadith. This portion of it was recorded by al-Qudaʿi in his Musnad (fol. 117/1).

2013 — “The Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said to the soul: ‘Come out!’ It replied: ‘I will not come out except unwillingly.’ [He said: ‘Come out, even if unwillingly.’]”

It was narrated by al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad (219) and al-Tarikh (2/1/251), by al-Bazzar (783—Kashf al-Astar)—the addition is his—and by al-Bayhaqi in al-Zuhd (52/1–2), through al-Rabiʿ ibn Muslim, from Muhammad ibn Ziyad, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, who said: He then cited it.

I say: This is an authentic chain; its narrators are trustworthy and meet Muslim’s criteria. Al-Bazzar said: “We know it only from Abu Hurayrah. None narrated it from him except Muhammad ibn Ziyad, none narrated it from Muhammad except al-Rabiʿ, and al-Rabiʿ is trustworthy and dependable.”