Ibn Majah (2/314) also transmitted it through ‘Anbasah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman, from Muhammad ibn Zadhan, who said: Umm Sa‘d told me that she said: “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, entered upon Aishah while I was with her and asked, ‘Is there anything for lunch?’ She replied, ‘We have bread, dates, and vinegar.’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘What an excellent condiment vinegar is. O Allah, bless vinegar, for it was the condiment of the prophets before me, and a house containing vinegar is never destitute.’”

I say: This is an utterly unsound chain of transmission. ‘Anbasah and Ibn Zadhan are both abandoned, and Abu Hatim accused the former of fabrication.

I then found another route for the hadith of Jabir, but it is very weak. Al-Hasan ibn Qutaybah narrated it: Al-Mughirah—namely, Ibn Ziyad—narrated to us from Abu al-Zubayr, from Jabir, with the wording: “No household that has vinegar among its condiments is destitute, and the best of your vinegar is the vinegar of your wine.” Al-Bayhaqi transmitted it (6/38) and said: “Abu ‘Abd Allah—meaning his teacher al-Hakim—said: ‘This is a feeble hadith, and al-Mughirah ibn Ziyad narrates objectionable reports.’”

I say: This al-Mughirah was truthful but prone to errors, as stated in al-Taqrib. Thus, the defect does not lie with him, but rather with the narrator from him, al-Hasan ibn Qutaybah, who is utterly unreliable, as al-Dhahabi said. Al-Daraqutni said: “Abandoned in hadith transmission.”

Equally weak is the additional wording narrated by ‘Ubayd Allah ibn al-Walid, from ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr, who said: “A group of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, entered upon Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah. He brought them bread and vinegar, then said: ‘Eat, for I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say: “What an excellent condiment vinegar is. It is ruinous for a man when a group of his brethren visit him and he deems what is in his house too insignificant to offer them; and ruinous for a people...”