this Bakr. However, the hadith is authentic, for its contents have been transmitted separately in other hadiths. The words, “Eat it,” occur in the two Sahihs on the authority of Jabir, in the singular form; and in al-Tirmidhi and elsewhere on the authority of Umm Ayyub, in the plural form. It and the one preceding it will appear under no. 2784. The rest of it is supported by a corroborating report from al-Mughirah ibn Shuʿbah, transmitted from him through an authentic chain of transmission; it is cited in Islah al-Masajid, no. 71.

2033 — “Every person is facilitated for that for which he was created.”

Al-Hakim (2/462) and Ahmad (6/441) narrated it from Abu al-Rabiʿ Sulayman ibn ʿUtbah, from Yunus ibn Maysarah ibn Halbas, from Abu Idris, from Abu al-Darda, who said: “They said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, is what we do a matter that has already been settled, or a matter that we begin afresh?’ He said, ‘Rather, it is a matter that has already been settled.’ They asked, ‘Then why act, O Messenger of Allah?’ He said”—and then mentioned the above.

I say: This is a good chain of transmission, as was explained previously under hadith no. 514. As for al-Hakim, he said: “The chain of transmission is authentic.” Al-Dhahabi rebutted him, saying: “Rather, Ibn Maʿin said of Sulayman ibn ʿUtbah: ‘He is of no account.’”

I say: This rebuttal is unfair, for Ibn ʿUtbah is disputed, as we mentioned there. Al-Dhahabi himself, when he included him in al-Mizan, said: “Duhaym declared him trustworthy, while Ibn Maʿin declared him weak. Salih Jazrah said: ‘He narrated objectionable reports, though he was declared trustworthy.’”

I say: Those who declared him trustworthy had greater knowledge of him than others, since they were Damascenes, such as Duhaym; Abu Mushir was also among them. Indeed, despite his strictness, Abu Hatim said of him: “There is no harm in him, and he is held in high regard by the people of Damascus.”