“We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on a journey ….”

Al-Shāfiʿī records it in al-Sunan (1/269).

Among those who relate it is Abū al-Mughīrah—his given name is ʿAbd al-Quddūs ibn al-Ḥajjāj al-Ḥimṣī; Aḥmad (5/194) transmitted the ḥadīth from him.

Thus, three trustworthy narrators omit the phrase “the month of Ramadan,” and, as is obvious, their version has priority over the other narration of al-Walīd. This conclusion is reinforced by the following consideration:

Second: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yazīd ibn Jābir also corroborated Saʿīd’s transmission of the ḥadīth from Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUbayd-Allāh in its entirety, yet he differed concerning this wording and said:

“We set out with the Messenger of Allah on one of our journeys ….”

Al-Bukhārī records it (3/147). This ʿAbd al-Raḥmān is more reliable than Saʿīd, so when they disagree his narration is weightier—especially since, as noted earlier, Saʿīd himself agrees with him in most of his transmissions.

Third: Hishām ibn Saʿd likewise corroborated him but did not include the contested phrase. Aḥmad (6/444) reports it from Ḥammād ibn Khālid, who said: “Hishām ibn Saʿd narrated to us, from ʿUthmān ibn Ḥayyān and Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUbayd-Allāh, from Umm al-Dardāʾ, from Abū al-Dardāʾ,” with the same wording.

Hishām ibn Saʿd is trustworthy and his ḥadīth is considered good; Muslim accepted his narrations, as will be mentioned.

Fourth: The ḥadīth also arrives through another route from Umm al-Dardāʾ in which the disputed wording is absent. Muslim (3/145), Ibn Mājah (1/510), al-Bayhaqī (4/245), and Aḥmad (5/194) all record it through several chains from Hishām ibn Saʿd, from ʿUthmān ibn Ḥayyān ad-Dimashqī, from Umm al-Dardāʾ, with the wording: