“This Ismāʿīl, I believe, is Ibn ʿAyyāsh, and neither of the two Shaykhs relied upon him.” Al-Dhahabī concurred with him; indeed, he asserted this categorically. For when he cited the chain of transmission of the hadith from Ismāʿīl, he said: “Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAyyāsh, from Ayyūb …” Thus, he inserted “ibn ʿAyyāsh” into the very text of the chain on his own accord. This was an error on his part, and on al-Ḥākim’s as well, for he was not Ibn ʿAyyāsh; rather, he was Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUlayyah, a trustworthy narrator relied upon by both al-Bukhārī and Muslim. They have listed this Ayyūb—al-Sakhtiyānī—among his shaykhs. As for Muḥammad ibn Muṣaffā al-Ḥimṣī, al-Ḥāfiẓ said: “He was truthful, though he made errors and practised concealment in transmission.”

I say: Here, however, he explicitly stated that he heard it directly, so we are safe from the concern of his concealment in transmission. ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sulaymān was the hadith master, son of the hadith master Abū Dāwūd al-Sijistānī, the author of al-Sunan. He was trustworthy; his father criticized him in a manner that scholars did not accept from him. The one protected from error is only he whom Allah protects. Thus, the chain is sound.

Al-Ḥākim also recorded it (2/595) through Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, from Saʿīd ibn Abī Saʿīd al-Maqburī, from ʿAṭāʾ, the freedman of Umm Ḥabībah, who said: I heard Abū Hurayrah say: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Jesus, son of Mary, will surely descend as a just judge …” the hadith. Abū Hurayrah said: “O sons of my brother! If you see him, then say: ‘Abū Hurayrah sends you greetings of peace.’” Al-Ḥākim said: “Its chain of transmission is authentic,” and al-Dhahabī agreed with him.

I say: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq practised concealment in transmission, and he related it using an ambiguous transmission formula. I do not know ʿAṭāʾ, the freedman of Umm Ḥabībah. Perhaps “Umm Ḥabībah” is a corruption of “Umm Ṣubayyah,” for ʿAṭāʾ, the freedman of Umm Ṣubayyah, is among the narrators used by al-Nasāʾī. He narrated from Abū Hurayrah, and Saʿīd al-Maqburī narrated from him; yet he is unknown.