I say: This is a good chain of transmission according to al-Bukhari’s criteria. Both he and Muslim also transmitted it, through another chain from Abu Hurayrah, as a longer report attributed to the Prophet with similar wording. It will appear, Allah willing, under no. 2741.

2227 — “No dust raised in the path of Allah ever mingles with the heart of a Muslim except that Allah forbids the Fire to him.”

Ahmad recorded it (6/85) through Isma‘il ibn ‘Ayyash, from al-Awza‘i, from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim, from his father, from Aishah: “A slave under a contract of manumission came to her concerning the remainder of his contracted payment. She said to him, ‘You are not to enter upon me after this occasion, so devote yourself to striving in the path of Allah. For I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say…” and then she cited it.

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission. All its narrators are trustworthy and are among the narrators used by the two Shaykhs, except Isma‘il ibn ‘Ayyash, who is trustworthy when narrating from Syrian narrators—and this is one such narration.

I say: Suwayd ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz also corroborated him, narrating it from al-Awza‘i with the same chain. Ibn Abi ‘Asim recorded it in al-Jihad (f. 84/1). As stated in al-Taqrib, this Suwayd is weak in hadith; thus, he may be cited as corroboration. Ibn Abi ‘Asim also recorded another chain for it, through Hafs ibn Jami‘, from al-Mughirah, from al-Hakam, from ‘Ata’, from her. This Hafs is likewise weak.

I found a third chain for it. Al-Tabarani said in al-Mu‘jam al-Awsat (no. 9577—in my photocopy): Haytham ibn Khalaf narrated to us; Muhammad ibn ‘Ammar al-Mawsili informed us; al-Qasim ibn Yazid al-Jurmi informed us, from Sadaqah ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Dimashqi, from Ibn Jurayj, from Muhammad ibn Ziyad al-Madani, from