been relied upon by the two Shaykhs ...” Thus, his statement, “... Muslim ...,” proves that the copy of al-Mustadrak he possessed read: “Authentic according to Muslim’s criteria.” Accordingly, the reading found in the printed edition of al-Mustadrak is an error by either the copyist or the printer.

(Important Note): This word, riḥāl (camel saddles), occurs in Fawāʾid al-Mukhalliṣ with an undotted ḥāʾ, unlike al-Musnad, al-Mawārid, and other sources, where it appears as rijāl (men), with a jīm. On this basis, Shaykh Ahmad Abd al-Rahman al-Banna explained it in al-Fatḥ al-Rabbānī (17/301), saying: “It means that they are men in outward form, but not in the true sense; for men who are complete both outwardly and inwardly would not allow their women to wear garments that do not cover their bodies.”

He did not notice the difficulty that Shaykh Ahmad Shakir, may Allah have mercy on him, did notice, when he said in his commentary on the hadith in al-Musnad (12/38): “The words, ‘There will be, in the latter part of my Ummah, men riding upon saddles like the semblances of men,’ and so on, are somewhat problematic in meaning. For likening men to men is far-fetched and requires a strained interpretation. Al-Hakim’s version does not contain this comparison; rather, its wording is: ‘There will be, in the latter part of this Ummah, men riding upon cushioned saddles until they come to the doors of their mosques; their women will be clothed yet naked,’ and so on. Its meaning is clear and sound. Al-Tabarani’s version—as al-Haythami relates it in al-Zawaʾid—is: ‘There will be in my Ummah men whose women ride upon saddles like the semblances of men.’ The printer of Majmaʿ al-Zawaʾid, out of audacity and ignorance, changed the plural verb to the singular. What appears correct to me is: ‘They will have their women ride.’ In any case, what is meant by the hadith is perfectly clear, and the existence of these accursed women who are clothed yet naked has become a reality in our own time—and even before it.”