ibn al-‘Ayzar, from Abu Umamah, in a lengthy version. It mentions the phrases “Glory be to Allah,” “Praise be to Allah,” “Allah is Most Great,” and “There is no god but Allah,” and concludes with the words:

“Say them, Abu Umamah, and teach them to those who come after you, for they are better than your remembrance of Allah through the night and day, and your remembrance through the day and night.”

It was recorded by al-Bayhaqi, no. 131. Al-Hasan ibn Abi Ja‘far is weak, as al-Hafiz stated in al-Taqrib. Al-Mundhiri cited this hadith in al-Targhib, with wording similar to the hadith under discussion but more complete, and said (2/253): “Ahmad, Ibn Abi al-Dunya—the wording being his—al-Nasa’i, Ibn Khuzaymah and Ibn Hibban in their two Sahih collections in abbreviated form, and al-Hakim narrated it. He said: ‘It is authentic according to the criteria of al-Bukhari and Muslim.’ Al-Tabarani also narrated it through two chains, one of which is good.”

2579 — “Is Ubayy among the people?”

Al-Harbi narrated it in al-Gharib (5/184/2): Ahmad ibn Ja‘far narrated to us; Waki‘ narrated to us from Sufyan, from Salamah, from Dharr, from Ibn Abza, from his father, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, omitted a verse. When he had prayed, he said: “Is Ubayy among the people?” Ubayy said: “Has such-and-such a verse been abrogated, or have you forgotten it?” He replied: “Rather, I was made to forget it.”

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission. All its narrators are trustworthy and are among the narrators of al-Bukhari and Muslim, apart from Ahmad ibn Ja‘far—who was the blind al-Waki‘i. He was a trustworthy hadith master, and has an entry in Tarikh Baghdad (4/58–59).