“Beware of violating the sanctity of Allah’s Sacred Precinct, for I bear witness that I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say”—and then he cited it. He said: “Take care not to be that man, O Ibn ʿAmr! For you have read the Scriptures and kept the company of the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him. I call you to witness that I am setting out for Syria to fight in jihad.”

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission according to the criteria of al-Bukhari and Muslim. Hashim was Ibn al-Qasim, Abu al-Nadr, and he has been corroborated. Imam Ahmad said (2/136): “Muhammad ibn Kanasah narrated to us; Ishaq ibn Saʿid narrated to us from his father, who said: ‘ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar came to ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and said: ...’” He then cited something similar, except for his words: “For you have read the Scriptures ...” Thus it is narrated as “Ibn ʿUmar,” and Imam Ahmad included it in his Musnad; but this is perhaps one of Ibn Kanasah’s errors, for despite his trustworthiness, Abu Hatim said of him: “His hadith may be recorded, but it is not used as proof.”

Al-Haythami said (3:285) regarding the first route: “Ahmad narrated it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.” Regarding the other, he said: “Ahmad narrated it, and its narrators are trustworthy.” He also mentioned it on the authority of Ibn ʿAmr with the wording: “A man named ʿAbd Allah will violate the sanctity of Mecca; upon him will be half the punishment of the world.” He said: “Al-Bazzar narrated it, and its chain includes Muhammad ibn Kathir al-Sanʿani. Salih ibn Muhammad, Ibn Saʿd, and Ibn Hibban deemed him trustworthy, whereas Ahmad graded him weak.” Al-Hafiz said regarding this al-Sanʿani: