2715 — “The best deed is to bring joy to your believing brother, settle a debt on his behalf, or give him bread to eat.”

Al-Aṣbahānī narrated it in al-Targhīb (214/1), through Aḥmad ibn al-Mubārak al-Ismāʿīlī: Abū Mūsā al-Harawī and Aḥmad ibn Jamīl al-Marwazī narrated to us; they said: ʿAmmār ibn Muḥammad al-Thawrī narrated to us, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr, from Abū Salamah, from Abū Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, “Which deed is best?” He replied, “That you bring …,” and so forth.

I say: This chain of transmission is good, if Allah wills. Its narrators are reliable and well known, and are among those covered in al-Tahdhīb, apart from those preceding ʿAmmār. Al-Khaṭīb gave their biographies in al-Tārīkh, and they were declared trustworthy except for al-Ismāʿīlī, concerning whom no criticism or accreditation has been mentioned. Two reliable narrators transmitted from him, and he died in al-Raqqah in 263 AH. Thus, his status is unknown, but his hadith may be accepted, especially as corroborative evidence. One such corroborating narration, from Ibn ʿUmar, has already preceded under no. 906.

Abū Mūsā al-Harawī’s name was Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm. His biography appears in al-Tārīkh (6/337), where his death is dated to 233 AH. The death of his counterpart, al-Marwazī, is dated to 230 AH.

2716 — “He would pray standing [a voluntary prayer, while the door was in the direction of the qiblah] [and was locked]. I asked for the door to be opened, so he walked to his right or to his left, opened the door, and then returned to his place.”

It was narrated by al-Nasāʾī (1/178), Ibn Ḥibbān (530), and al-Bayhaqī (2/265)