I then found another route for the hadith of Abu Ayyub. Al-Tayalisi stated in his Musnad (81/598), and through him al-Bayhaqi in al-Shuʿab (7/490/11094): Abu al-Sabah al-Shami narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-ʿAziz al-Shami, from his father, from Abu Ayyub, with a similar wording. I say: This is an obscure chain of transmission; apart from Abu Ayyub, I do not recognize any of its narrators.

2645 — “Indeed, everything has a master, and the foremost seat in a gathering is the one facing the qiblah.”

Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Awsat (3/269): Ibrahim narrated to us; ʿAmr ibn ʿUthman narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Khalid informed us, from Muhammad ibn ʿAmr, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ... He then cited it. He said: “No one narrated it from Muhammad ibn Khalid except ʿAmr.”

I say: He is al-Wahbi, and he is trustworthy, as are those above him, notwithstanding a slight weakness in Muhammad ibn ʿAmr. Thus, the chain is good, as will be explained below. Ibrahim is Ibn Muhammad ibn ʿIrq al-Himsi, as stated in the biography of his shaykh, ʿAmr, in Tarikh Ibn ʿAsakir (13/289/2). Ibn ʿAsakir, however, did not provide a biographical entry for Ibrahim himself. Al-Hafiz said in al-Lisan: “He is one of al-Tabarani’s shaykhs and is not relied upon.”

Al-Tabarani and Ibn ʿAdi, in al-Kamil (2/376), then narrated through Hamzah ibn Abi Hamzah, from Nafiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar, attributed to the Prophet, with the wording: “The most honored seat in a gathering is that which faces the qiblah.” They said: “No one narrated it from Nafiʿ except Hamzah.”