Similar, too, is the story of Harut and Marut, which is well known in the books of exegesis and elsewhere. It cannot authentically be traced back to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as I have explained in “the Other Series,” no. 170.

2696 — “O young men of Quraysh, guard your chastity and do not commit adultery. Indeed, whoever guards his chastity shall have Paradise.”

It was recorded by al-Tabarani in al-Awsat (no. 6993, according to my numbering), al-Hakim (4/358), and al-Bayhaqi in Shuʿab al-Iman (2/119/2), through the route of Shaddad ibn Saʿid: Saʿid ibn Iyas Abu Masʿud al-Jurayri related to us, from Abu Nadrah, from Ibn ʿAbbas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said—and he then cited it.

Al-Tabarani said: “No one narrated it from al-Jurayri except Shaddad; Muslim ibn Ibrahim alone narrated it.” I say: No; rather, Saʿid ibn Sulayman corroborated him: Shaddad ibn Saʿid narrated it to us from al-Jurayri. Al-Bayhaqi recorded this (2/125/2).

Thus, Abu Nuʿaym’s statement in al-Hilyah (3/100–101), after citing its chain through Muslim, is correct: “Shaddad alone narrated it.” Al-Hakim said: “Authentic according to Muslim’s conditions.” I say: Al-Dhahabi left it without comment. As for al-Mundhiri, he reported in al-Targhib (3/197) that al-Hakim said: “Authentic according to the conditions of both of them,” and endorsed it. This was perhaps an error on al-Mundhiri’s part, for classifying it as meeting both their conditions is as far from correct as can be, in addition to contradicting what is found in al-Mustadrak: Shaddad ibn Saʿid—Abu Talhah al-Rasibi—had no reports recorded by al-Bukhari, while Muslim recorded his reports only in corroborative narrations, as