al-Zuhri narrated to me: Ishaq ibn Ja‘far narrated to me; Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Kinani narrated to me, from Amir ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, from Abu Lubabah ibn Abd al-Mundhir, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to … and so on.

He said: “It is not narrated from Abu Lubabah except through this chain of transmission; Ibrahim ibn al-Mustamir al-Aruqi was alone in narrating it.”

I say: He was truthful, as were those above him—of similar standing or more reliable—except Ya‘qub ibn Muhammad al-Zuhri, who made frequent mistakes, as stated in al-Taqrib. Al-Kinani, moreover, was not declared trustworthy by anyone besides Ibn Hibban, who included him among the trustworthy members of the Followers of the Successors, and mentioned no one as narrating from him other than this Ishaq ibn Ja‘far. Likewise, al-Bukhari mentioned no one else as narrating from him in al-Tarikh al-Kabir (1/2/127), nor did Ibn Abi Hatim (3/2/309); and he quoted his father as saying: “I do not know him.”

Despite all this, after attributing it to al-Tabarani in al-Mu‘jam al-Awsat, al-Haythami (10/134) said: “Its chain of transmission is good!” Indeed, if he meant that it is good due to corroborating evidence, then that is acceptable, since it has a supporting report from the hadith of Suhayb, may Allah be pleased with him. Ibn Khuzaymah (2565), Ibn Hibban, al-Hakim, and al-Dhahabi authenticated it, though there is an issue with it which I explained in my commentary on al-Kalim al-Tayyib (comment no. 131). For this reason, I had graded it good in my commentary on Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah (4/150).

I then found a supporting report for it in the hadith of Qatadah, who said: “Whenever Ibn Mas‘ud wished to enter a town, he would say: …” He then cited it as a report attributed to the Companion.