He had been cauterized seven times, and we came to visit him. He said: “Had I not heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say, ‘Do not wish for death,’ I would have wished for it.” Then we found him repairing a wall of his, and he said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say…” and he mentioned it. Ibn Hibban also recorded it through this route (5/99–100), but without the statement about wishing for death.

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission, transmitted by at least two chains, and it meets the criteria of al-Bukhari and Muslim. Al-Bukhari recorded it in his Sahih (5672) and in al-Adab al-Mufrad (455); as did Ahmad (5/110), al-Humaydi (154)—from whom al-Tabarani transmitted it in al-Mujam al-Kabir (4/70/3633)—as well as Abu Nuaym in al-Hilyah (1/146). Al-Tabarani also recorded it (3635) through several routes from Ismail, with the report attributed to the Companion Khabbab. I say: This is more authentic, but I consider it to carry the ruling of a report attributed to the Prophet, particularly since it has been explicitly attributed to the Prophet in some routes, corroborating narrations, and supporting reports. I shall mention such reports as are readily available to me:

First: from Ismail ibn Ayyash, from Ismail ibn Abi Khalid, through the same chain, from Khabbab, who said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: ‘For every expenditure a servant makes, he is rewarded, except for building.’” Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mujam al-Kabir (4/73/3641) with an authentic chain from Ibn Ayyash. All the remaining narrators are trustworthy except Ibn Ayyash, whose narrations from non-Syrians were deemed weak; and this is one of them, for Ibn Abi Khalid was from Kufah. Thus, a narration such as his may be accepted as corroborative or supporting evidence.

Second: from Umar ibn Ismail ibn Mujalid: his father narrated to us, from Bayan ibn Bishr and Ibn Abi Mujalid, through the same chain. Its wording is: “A Muslim is rewarded for all his spending, except what he puts into the soil.” Al-Tabarani also recorded it (3645).