that he heard Ali and Ibn Mas‘ud, although both had died roughly twenty years before Abu Hurayrah. The hadith also has a corroborating report from Abu Umamah, attributed to the Prophet, with the same wording. Muslim (3/94), al-Tirmidhi (2344), and Ahmad (5/262) narrated it through the route of Ikrimah ibn Ammar, who said: Shaddad ibn Abdullah narrated to us: I heard Abu Umamah relate it. Al-Tirmidhi said: “A good, authentic hadith.” I say: Ikrimah ibn Ammar has also been subject to criticism, so this hadith is strengthened by the first route. Allah, Exalted is He, is the Granter of success.
2474 — “The ties of kinship are a branch of the Most Merciful, joined to Him. They have an eloquent tongue and speak as they wish. Whoever maintains them, Allah will maintain him; and whoever severs them, Allah will cut him off.”
Al-Tayalisi narrated it in his Musnad (2550): Shu‘bah narrated to us; he said: Uthman ibn al-Mughirah narrated to us; he said: Abu al-Anbas narrated to us; he said: Abdullah ibn Amr—at al-Waht—narrated to us: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, bent one of his fingers for us and then mentioned it. I say: This is a good chain of transmission. Its narrators are trustworthy and are narrators of al-Bukhari, apart from Abu al-Anbas—who was al-Thaqafi. Ibn Hibban declared him trustworthy, and a number of trustworthy narrators reported from him; thus, the report of one like him is admissible as evidence among the Successors, especially since his hadith has many corroborating reports, some of which have preceded under no. 1602.
Qatadah also corroborated him, reporting from Abu Thumamah al-Thaqafi, from Abdullah ibn Amr, with a similar report attributed to the Prophet. Ahmad (2/189, 209) and others narrated it. Its narrators are trustworthy and are narrators of Muslim, apart from Abu Thumamah al-Thaqafi, whom Ibn Hibban declared trustworthy (5/567). Al-Haythami (8/150) also attributed it to al-Tabarani. For its corroborating reports, see Takhrij al-Halal wa-l-Haram (405) and the hadith cited earlier under no.