I say: I did not find it in al-Nasāʾī’s al-Ṣughrā; perhaps it is in his al-Kubrā. There is also reason to question the reliability of al-Ṭabarānī’s narrators, as will be explained later. The same applies to his statement, “Its chain of transmission is authentic,” if he meant the chain through the route mentioned above, for Abū Dāwūd declared it defective, immediately after recording it, on account of an interruption. He said: “Sālim did not hear from Shuraḥbīl; Shuraḥbīl died at Ṣiffīn.”

I later found it in al-Nasāʾī’s al-Kubrā (3/170/4883) through this route. In al-Tahdhīb, al-Ḥāfiẓ cited Abū Dāwūd as stating that he died at Ṣiffīn, but immediately before this he cited the author of the History of Ḥimṣ as saying that he died in Salāmiyyah in 36 AH. Yazīd ibn ʿAbd Rabbih said that he died in 40 AH. This is the most widely reported date for his death, and it is the one Ibn al-Athīr adopted in Usd al-Ghābah, mentioning no other.

If this is so—and it is known that ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, also died in 40 AH—then this supports the interruption identified by Abū Dāwūd. It is likewise supported by what al-Ḥāfiẓ cited in Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd’s biography from Abū Zurʿah, who said: “Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd’s reports from ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī are mursal.” It is further supported by what he cited from Abū Ḥātim, who said: “Sālim did not live to meet Thawbān,” even though Thawbān did not die until 54 AH. In short, the chain is interrupted, so al-Ḥāfiẓ’s authentication of it was an oversight on his part. May Allah pardon both us and him.

Moreover, al-Aʿmash corroborated Shuʿbah. Aḥmad (4/235) said: “Abū Muʿāwiyah narrated to us: al-Aʿmash narrated to us from ʿAmr ibn Murrah,” with the same chain, except that he did not mention the third passage of the hadith under discussion. Ibn Mājah (2522) and al-Ṭaḥāwī (1/311) likewise recorded it through another route from Abū Muʿāwiyah. Sulaym ibn ʿĀmir also corroborated him in reporting the first passage from Shuraḥbīl. Its documentation has preceded under no. 1756, and al-Nasāʾī recorded it as well (4885).