“It was narrated by Ahmad and al-Tabarani in al-Kabir. The narrators in al-Tabarani’s chain have been declared trustworthy, since it is narrated by Muhammad ibn Talhah from Abu Salama. As for Abu Sulayman, who appears in Ahmad’s chain, I do not know him, nor have I found anyone who has written his biography.”

I say: In the printed Musnad, it reads: “Sulaym.” Whether this is correct, or whether it is Abu Sulayman, he is not among the narrators in the chain of this hadith, as is evident; thus, there is no basis for declaring Ahmad’s chain defective on his account. Moreover, his reasoning for declaring al-Tabarani’s narrators trustworthy—namely, that it is a narration of Muhammad ibn Talhah—is inadequate. Perhaps some words have been omitted from the statement, such as: “and he is trustworthy.” Allah knows best. He then mentioned a supporting report for the hadith from Abu Ayyub, narrated by al-Tabarani through a chain whose narrators are those of the authentic collections. Al-zi’r refers to a woman who nurses a child other than her own, and it may also refer to her husband; the latter is clearly what is intended here.

2122 — “He would perform ablution, washing each part once, twice, and three times; he did all of these.”

Al-Haythami said (1/233): “Al-Tabarani narrated it in al-Kabir from Muʿadh ibn Jabal, and its chain contains Muhammad ibn Saʿid al-Maslub, who is weak.”

I say: Rather, he is a liar. However, the hadith has come through another route from Abu Rafiʿ, who said: “I saw the Messenger of Allah perform ablution, washing three times each, twice each, and once each.” Al-Tabarani also narrated it in al-Kabir (1/317/937), and its chain is authentic, and its narrators are