Nevertheless, the hadith is strong, owing to its many supporting narrations concerning the expiation of a believer’s sins through trials and illnesses. Well known among them is the hadith of Musʿab—Amir’s brother—ibn Saʿd, from his father, attributed to the Prophet: “... Affliction continues to befall the servant until it leaves him walking upon the earth with no sin upon him.” Its documentation has previously been given under no. 143.
- “A person remains in prayer as long as he waits for it.”
Abd ibn Humayd narrated it in al-Muntakhab min al-Musnad (fol. 137/1, library photocopy), from Hammad ibn Shuʿayb al-Humani, from Abu al-Zubayr, from Jabir, attributed to the Prophet. I say: This chain of transmission is weak. Abu al-Zubayr practised tadlis and narrated it using the ambiguous ʿan (“from”) formula. Hammad is weak; Ibn Maʿin and others declared him weak, and Ibn ʿAdi said: “Most of his hadiths are such that no one corroborates him in them.”
I say: However, he was corroborated in this. Ibn Lahiʿah said: Abu al-Zubayr narrated to us. He said: I asked Jabir, “Did you hear the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say: ‘A man remains in prayer as long as he waits for the prayer’?” He said: “One night, we waited for the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for the night prayer. He was delayed in coming to us until it was nearly midnight, or had reached it. Then the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came, and we prayed. He then said: ‘Sit down,’ and addressed us, saying: ‘The people have prayed and gone to sleep, whereas you have continued to be in prayer as long as you waited for the prayer.’”
Its narrators are trustworthy, except that Ibn Lahiʿah had poor retention. Yet he was corroborated. Imam Ahmad (3/367) said: Abu al-Jawwab narrated to us; Ammar ibn Ruzayq narrated to us