Ahmad (4/216–217) and al-Ḥākim (4/478) recorded it, and the latter said: “Its chain of transmission is authentic.” Al-Dhahabī rebutted this, stating that the preserved version is narrated solely by ʿAlī ibn Zayd ibn Judʿān—that is, he is weak.

There are other hadiths on this subject which explicitly state that the imam behind whom Jesus, peace be upon him, will pray is none other than the Mahdī. They may be found in al-Suyūṭī’s al-ʿUrf al-Wardī (pp. 81, 83, 84). The hadith of Jābir among them has recently preceded under no. 2236. Al-Suyūṭī concluded this discussion with what he quoted from Abū al-Ḥasan al-Saḥarī (!): “Reports from the Chosen One, peace and blessings be upon him, concerning the coming of the Mahdī and his being from his household have reached the level of tawātur and become widespread through their numerous transmitters; ... that he will emerge alongside Jesus, son of Mary, and assist him in killing the Dajjāl; ... and that he will lead this Ummah in prayer, while Jesus prays behind him ...”

2294—“Whoever harms Muslims on their roads has incurred their curse.”

Abū Bakr al-Shāfiʿī recorded it in Musnad Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Hāshimī (71/2), through Mūsā ibn Ibrāhīm, who said: Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad narrated to us from his father, from his grandfather, attributing it to the Prophet. I say: This Mūsā ibn Ibrāhīm is abandoned. However, it has another route, recorded by al-Ṭabarānī (1/312/1, no. 3050—the Baghdad edition), through Shuʿayb ibn Bayān, who said: ʿImrān al-Qaṭṭān narrated to us from Qatādah, from Abū al-Ṭufayl, from Ḥudhayfah ibn Usayd, attributing it to the Prophet. I say: This Shuʿayb is weak. In al-Taqrīb, he is described as: “Truthful, but makes mistakes.” Al-Mundhirī said in al-Targhīb (1/83):