“Whoever guarantees for me what lies between his jaws and what lies between his legs, I guarantee him Paradise.”

Al-Bukhari (6474) and al-Bayhaqi (8/166), in al-Shuʿab (4/235/4913), transmitted it on the authority of Sahl ibn Saʿd. Al-Bayhaqi also transmitted it (4915) on the authority of Jabir, with a sound chain of transmission. It also has other good corroborating reports; see Fath al-Bari (11/309).

Note: Abu Yaʿla recorded the hadith in his Musnad (3/18–19): Muhammad ibn Marzuq narrated to us: Zajir ibn al-Salt narrated to us, from al-Harith ibn ʿUmayr, from Shaddad, from Abu Talhah, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said it.

I say: Al-Harith ibn ʿUmayr was Abu ʿUmayr al-Basri, later al-Makki. There is considerable disagreement concerning him: some declared him trustworthy, while others accused him of fabricating hadiths. Al-Dhahabi even said in al-Mughni: “I am astonished that al-Nasaʾi included reports from him.”

I say: This is because al-Nasaʾi deemed him trustworthy and was not aware of the criticism against him. Al-Hafiz said: “A group declared him trustworthy, but his hadiths contain objectionable reports. Al-Azdi, Ibn Hibban, and others declared him weak on account of these; perhaps his memory deteriorated in his later years.”

I say: His narration of this hadith through this chain of transmission—in which he contradicts Muslim ibn Ibrahim—indicates his weakness. This is why his case was obscure to a number of those who discussed him:

First: Al-Haythami said (4/253): “Abu Yaʿla transmitted it, but its chain is interrupted and contains narrators whom I do not know.”

Second: Shaykh Habib al-Rahman al-Aʿzami cited al-Haythami’s aforementioned remarks