It was recorded by Abu ʿAwanah in his Sahih (1/139). Its chain of transmission is authentic, and all its narrators are trustworthy.

The second was Hajjaj ibn Muhammad, from Ibn Jurayj, attributing it to the Companion. It was recorded by Abu ʿAwanah and ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad in al-Sunnah (p. 48), each through an authentic chain from him.

The third was Ruh ibn ʿUbadah. A number of narrators reported it from him. The first was Imam Ahmad, who said: “Ruh ibn ʿUbadah narrated to us; Ibn Jurayj narrated to us,” through the same chain. He recorded it in al-Musnad (3/383) and in al-Sunnah (p. 47); through his route, Ibn Mandah recorded it in al-Iman (3/802–803), Ibn Abi ʿAsim in al-Sunnah (47–48), and al-Lalikaʾi in al-Sharh (3/482/835).

The second was Ishaq ibn Mansur—namely, Ibn Bahram—one of Imam Ahmad’s students. He was trustworthy and among the narrators relied upon by the two Shaykhs. Muslim said in his Sahih (1/122): “ʿUbayd Allah ibn Saʿid and Ishaq ibn Mansur both narrated to me from Ruh,” through the same chain.

The third was ʿUbayd Allah ibn Saʿid—namely, al-Yashkuri—a trustworthy and reliable narrator. Muslim recorded it in the version of Muslim mentioned above.

All three agreed on the wording: “Then He reveals Himself to them, laughing.” However, the transmissions from Ishaq ibn Mansur differed concerning it. Muslim narrated it from him in this manner, and Muhammad ibn Nuʿaym and Muhammad ibn Shadhan corroborated him, saying: “Ishaq ibn Mansur narrated it to us,” through the same chain. Ibn Mandah recorded it (3/804) through the route of Muhammad ibn Yaʿqub al-Shaybani, from the two of them. This al-Shaybani was Ibn al-Akhram, a trustworthy hadith master whose biography is included in Tadhkirat al-Huffaz and elsewhere.