214 – “You are Sahal.”

Al-Bukhārī narrated this report (10/474, Fatḥ), likewise in al-Adab al-Mufrad (841), as did Abū Dāwūd (no. 4956) and Aḥmad (5/433), through al-Zuhrī → Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib → his father → his grandfather, who said: “The Prophet ﷺ asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘Ḥuzn (Hardship).’ The Prophet ﷺ then said the above statement. He answered, ‘No, for “Sahal” (Easy) is something that is trodden on and belittled.’ Saʿīd said, ‘I therefore thought that hardship would befall us after him.’” This is Abū Dāwūd’s wording; al-Bukhārī’s version is similar, except that it says: “He replied, ‘I will not change a name my father gave me.’ ”

Ibn al-Musayyib added, “Hardship has never ceased among us since then.”

ʿAlī ibn Zayd also transmitted it from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib with a similar wording, but he made it part of the Musnad of al-Musayyib ibn Ḥuzn, not a narration of Ḥuzn himself. This is how it comes in Aḥmad’s route from al-Zuhrī and in one of al-Bukhārī’s routes. Al-Ḥāfiẓ judged the former version to be the stronger. In ʿAlī’s report it says:

“He said, ‘Messenger of Allah, it is a name my parents gave me by which I am known among the people.’ Thereupon the Prophet ﷺ remained silent.”

I (Albānī) say: Everyone knows that his ﷺ silence counts as approval, yet ʿAlī ibn Zayd—namely Ibn Judʿān—is weak, all the more so since he has added to what Imām al-Zuhrī reported; therefore, his additional wording is not accepted.

215 – “Rather, you are Hishām.”

Al-Bukhārī recorded it in al-Adab al-Mufrad (825) through ʿImrān al-Qaṭṭān → Qatādah → Zurārah ibn Abī Awfā → Saʿd ibn Hishām → ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her):

“A man called Shihāb was mentioned in the presence of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, whereupon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ …” and he narrated the incident.