And Abdullah ibn Ubaydillah al-Hashimi was of the same generation as Abdullah ibn Ubaydillah ibn Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib al-Hashimi. He was trustworthy and among the narrators relied upon by both al-Bukhari and Muslim. Yet they did not mention any transmission by him from Abdullah ibn Ukaym, nor did they list Ibrahim—namely, al-Nakha‘i—among those who narrated from him.

Haytham ibn Khalid al-Masisi was included by al-Dhahabi in al-Du‘afa, where he said: “Al-Daraqutni said: ‘He is weak.’” Al-Hafiz endorsed this in al-Tahdhib and decisively declared him weak in al-Taqrib.

However, Shabib ibn Sa‘id narrated it from Shu‘bah, from al-Hakam, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla, from Abdullah ibn Ukaym, who said: A letter from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, reached us while we were in the land of Juhaynah: “I had previously granted you a concession concerning the hide and sinews of a carcass; so do not make use of any sinew or hide.” Ibn Adi recorded it in Shabib’s biography in al-Kamil (4/1347), and al-Tabarani likewise recorded it, as cited in al-Talkhis al-Habir (1/47). He said: “Its chain of transmission consists of trustworthy narrators, and Fudalah ibn al-Mufaddal corroborated him in al-Awsat of al-Tabarani.”

I say: Fudalah’s wording differs from this, for it reads: “I had previously granted you a concession concerning the skins of carcasses; so do not make use of a carcass, whether its skin or its sinew.” Thus, he used “skin” in both places in place of “hide.” The preserved wording is “hide,” which means the skin before tanning. A group narrated it from Shu‘bah in this manner, and it has been fully documented in al-Irwa’ (no. 38). As for Fudalah ibn al-Mufaddal, Ibn Abi Hatim reported from his father (3/2/79):