The hadith also has a corroborating report through Yahya ibn Sa‘id, from ‘Abayah ibn Rifa‘ah, from his grandfather Rafi‘ ibn Khadij, who said: He then mentioned it. Ahmad recorded it (3/465). Its chain of transmission is authentic according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs. This Yahya ibn Sa‘id is Ibn Hayyan al-Tamimi, a trustworthy narrator relied upon by the two Shaykhs; he is not the previously mentioned al-Ansari.
- “O Abu Dharr, two angels came to me while I was in part of the open valley of Mecca. One of them descended to the ground, while the other was between heaven and earth. One of them said to his companion, ‘Is this him?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Weigh him against one man.’ So I was weighed against him and outweighed him. Then he said, ‘Weigh him against ten.’ So I was weighed against them and outweighed them. Then he said, ‘Weigh him against one hundred.’ So I was weighed against them and outweighed them. Then he said, ‘Weigh him against one thousand.’ So I was weighed against them and outweighed them. It is as though I can see them tumbling down upon me as the scale rose lightly. Then one of them said to his companion, ‘If you were to weigh him against an entire nation, he would outweigh it.’”
Al-Darimi recorded it (1/9): ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Imran narrated to us; Abu Dawud narrated to us; Ja‘far ibn ‘Uthman al-Qurashi narrated to us, from ‘Uthman ibn ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, from his father, from Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, who said: I said, “O Messenger of Allah, how did you know that you were a prophet when you first received prophethood?” He replied: “O Abu Dharr, two angels came to me …,” and so forth.
This is a good chain of transmission; all its narrators are known and trustworthy. There is some criticism of Ja‘far ibn ‘Uthman—who is Ja‘far ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Uthman—but it does not detract from him, Allah willing. Abu Hatim declared him trustworthy. The Abu Dawud in the chain is al-Tayalisi, and through his route Ibn ‘Asakir also narrated it, as cited in The Beginning (2/276), as did al-‘Uqayli, as cited in The Balance (1/190).