ibn ʿAbd Allāh. Furthermore, the hadith was narrated by Ibn Naṣr (55) and ʿAbd al-Razzāq in al-Muṣannaf (8/137/14629), through an authentic chain from Shurayḥ, who related it as his own statement, in precisely the same wording as the hadith under discussion.

I say: Simāk was Ibn Ḥarb, a well-known Successor. He said: “I met eighty Companions.” His explanation of the hadith should therefore take precedence in the event of disagreement, especially since he was one of the narrators of this hadith. A narrator knows his own narration better than anyone else, since it is presumed that he received the report from the person who transmitted it to him together with an understanding of its meaning. This is all the more so when a number of the scholars and jurists of the early generations agreed with him:

1. Ibn Sīrīn. Ayyūb narrated from him that he disapproved of someone saying: “I sell it to you for ten dinars in cash, or for fifteen on deferred payment.” ʿAbd al-Razzāq transmitted it in al-Muṣannaf (8/137/14630) with an authentic chain from him. He disapproved of this only because it had been prohibited.

2. Ṭāwūs, who said: “If he says, ‘It is for such-and-such, payable at such-and-such time, and for such-and-such, payable at such-and-such time,’ and the sale is concluded on this basis, then it is at the lower of the two prices, with the longer of the two terms.” ʿAbd al-Razzāq also narrated this (14631) with an authentic chain. He also narrated it (14626), as did Ibn Abī Shaybah (6/120), by way of Layth from Ṭāwūs, in an abbreviated form, omitting the words, “and the sale is concluded...” They added: “But if he sells it on one of the two terms before parting from him, there is no objection.” This is not authentically reported from Ṭāwūs, because Layth—namely, Ibn Abī Sulaym—became confused in his later years.

3. Sufyān al-Thawrī, who said: