“It is a singular report from Ibrāhīm; I know of no route for it other than this one.”

I say: He was truthful, despite his asceticism, so the hadith is good, since the narrators above him are known to be trustworthy—were it not for the fact that I do not know the narrator from Ibrāhīm. However, Abū Nuʿaym’s manner of presenting it suggests that he was not alone in narrating it. What is strange is his statement: “I know of no route for it other than this one,” even though Muslim recorded it in his Ṣaḥīḥ (8/21), through al-ʿAlāʾ, from his father, from Abū Hurayrah, traced back to the Prophet, within a hadith. Others also recorded it, and I have cited it in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl (2262).

It also has a corroborating report from ʿUmar, traced back to the Prophet, with the addition: “And He says: ‘Rise; may Allah raise you.’ Thus, he is insignificant in his own eyes but great in the eyes of people. Whoever acts arrogantly, Allah lowers him, and He says: ‘Be abased; may Allah lower you.’ Thus, he is insignificant in the eyes of people but great in his own eyes, until he becomes more contemptible to them than a dog.”

It was recorded by Abū Nuʿaym (7/129) and al-Khaṭīb (2/110), and they said: “It is a singular report from al-Thawrī; Saʿīd ibn Salām alone narrated it.” I say: He is a liar, as Aḥmad and others stated; therefore, I cited it in al-Ḍaʿīfah (1295).

The hadith has another corroborating report through the narration of Darrāj—who is weak—from Abū al-Haytham, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, traced back to the Prophet, with the wording: “Whoever humbles himself for Allah by one degree, Allah raises him by one degree, until He places him in the highest of ʿIlliyyīn. And whoever behaves arrogantly before Allah by one degree, Allah lowers him by one degree, until He places him in the lowest of the lowly.” It was recorded by Ibn Mājah (2/544) and Ibn Ḥibbān (1942).

Then I found another route for the hadith of ʿUmar through the narration of ʿĀṣim ibn Muḥammad, from his father, from Ibn