and one of Imam al-Shafi‘i’s shaykhs.

Thus, in my view, the hadith is good when this chain is combined with the preceding one—especially since al-Hafiz said in al-Talkhis (2/263), regarding the hadith of Ibn ‘Umar: “Al-Bazzar narrated it with a good chain, as did al-Hakim and al-Bayhaqi.” I say: I have not found it in al-Hakim’s al-Mustadrak, though al-Bayhaqi narrated it through him.

It has another supporting report, narrated by Bakr ibn Bakkar: Ibrahim ibn Yazid informed us; Sulayman al-Ahwal informed us, from ‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb, from his father, from his grandfather: “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, granted the shepherds a concession to perform the stoning at night and at whatever hour of the day they wished.”

Al-Daraqutni narrated it (p. 279). Its commentator said: “Ibn al-Qattan said: If this Ibrahim ibn Yazid is al-Khuzi, then he is weak; but if he is someone else, then it is not known who he is. As for Bakr ibn Bakkar, Ibn Ma‘in said of him: ‘He is not strong.’” Al-Hafiz said: “Its chain is weak.”

I say: I have some observations concerning the statements of al-Hafiz and others, and it is beneficial to set them out:

First: His statement, “Al-Bazzar narrated it with a good chain, and ...,” gives the impression that al-Bazzar narrated it through a route other than that of Muslim ibn Khalid, which appears in al-Bayhaqi’s route from al-Hakim. This is not so. For al-Zayla‘i, in Nasb al-Rayah (3/86), attributed it only to al-Bazzar in his Musnad, through that very same route. On this basis, al-Haythami deemed it defective in al-Majma‘ (3/260), saying: “It contains Muslim ibn Khalid al-Zanji, who is weak, though he has been declared trustworthy.”

Second: Ibn al-Qattan’s uncertainty as to whether Ibrahim ibn Yazid was al-Khuzi or someone else was answered by al-Hafiz in al-Lisan, where he said: “I say: He is undoubtedly al-Khuzi, as appears to me. And Allah knows best.”