“The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would apply kohl twice to the right eye, twice to the left eye, and once between them.” Ibn ʿAdī recorded it in al-Kāmil (244/2) and said: “I know of no one besides ʿUmar ibn Ḥabīb who narrated it from Ibn ʿAwn. His hadith is good, and his hadith may be recorded despite his weakness.” Al-Ḥāfiẓ said in al-Taqrīb: “Weak.”

Furthermore, the hadith under discussion has a corroborating report from ʿUqbah concerning the Prophet’s practice, peace and blessings be upon him, and another concerning his statement. Both have preceded in the third volume (no. 1260).

It also has several other corroborating reports which state that kohl was applied three times to the right eye and twice to the left. Their documentation has preceded in the second volume, under no. 633. There, I cited this hadith under discussion as a corroborating report through al-Bazzār. But when I found a discrepancy between its chain of transmission and those of Ibn Jarīr and al-Khaṭīb, I considered it necessary to document it anew and to clarify the matter in the manner explained above. Allah is the Granter of success.

Regarding the aforementioned hadith of ʿUqbah, I mentioned there that its chain of transmission was weak because of Ibn Lahīʿah and his poor memory. I have now found it narrated by Ibn Wahb from him, through the aforementioned chain of transmission, as a prophetic report of the Prophet’s statement, peace and blessings be upon him. Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī recorded it in Tahdhīb al-Āthār (2/99/1249). Thus, the hadith is authentic, praise be to Allah, because Ibn Lahīʿah’s hadith is authentic when it is narrated from him by the reliable transmitters known as the ʿAbādilah; Ibn Wahb was among them, as was Qutaybah ibn Saʿīd, as will be cited from al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī under hadith 2843.