Similar to this is what al-Ḥāfiẓ did in al-Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr. After citing the hadith of Ibn ʿAbbās with the same meaning as the hadith under discussion, and relating the judgments of those who recorded it, who declared Ibn ʿAbbās’s hadith weak and invalid, he said (1/260): “In al-Ṭabarānī’s al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ, from al-Azraq ibn Qays: ‘I saw ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar kneading in the prayer: when he rose, he would rely on his hands, as one kneads dough!’”

Thus, he mentioned only the report attributed to the Companion, omitting the portion attributed to the Prophet, thereby giving the reader an impression contrary to the facts. For this reason, relying on him, I had called it a Companion report in the previously mentioned book. But when I came upon its wording in al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ, I hastened to include it here, citing it as I found it and discussing its chain of transmission, out of sincere concern for the Ummah and in confirmation of what I had mentioned there regarding the hadith’s authenticity. All praise is due to Allah, by Whose grace righteous deeds are brought to completion.

Here it is necessary to point out an error I made there: I had considered it more likely that ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar—the teacher of al-Ḥarbī—was actually ʿUbayd Allah ibn ʿUmar, with the name in its diminutive form. But when I came across al-Ṭabarānī’s narration and found it to correspond to al-Ḥarbī’s narration—in fact, al-Ṭabarānī additionally named his grandfather, Abān—it became clear to me that this was an error. The correct name is as it appears in both narrations: ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar. He was ʿAbd Allah ibn Muḥammad ibn Abān al-Umawī, their client, from Kūfah; he too was trustworthy and among Muslim’s narrators.

I then found a supporting narration for Yūnus ibn Bukayr, which al-Ṭabarānī also recorded in al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ (1/190/2, no. 3371—printed edition), through ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-Ḥammānī, who said: Al-Haytham ibn ʿAṭiyyah al-Baṣrī informed us, from al-Azraq ibn Qays, who said: “I saw Ibn ʿUmar in prayer using his hands for support when he rose. I said, ‘What is this?’ He replied, ‘I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, doing it.’” Al-Ṭabarānī said: “No one narrated it from al-Azraq except al-Haytham; al-Ḥammānī alone reported it.”