The rest of the hadith follows, and at its end is the hadith cited under the present heading. It has already appeared as no. 2677, only through this narration of Ahmad, with the indication that part of it is found in the two Sahih collections; there are points of benefit here that were not mentioned there. This is a good chain of transmission, as I explained there, and al-Mundhiri (3/40) considered it strong.

It has a corroborating report with similar wording from Abu Sa'id. Ibn Majah (2426) narrated it with a good chain, and al-Busiri declared it authentic. There is another report from Abdullah ibn Abi Sufyan, narrated by al-Tabarani. In al-Targhib, it appears as “Abdullah ibn Mas'ud,” but this is an error by the printer or copyist. “The people rebuked him” means that they scolded him; one says this of camels when they are driven on and shouted at so that they proceed.

2849 — “Indeed, among the best servants of Allah in this Ummah are those who, when they are seen, Allah Most High is remembered. Among the worst servants of Allah in this Ummah are those who go about spreading malicious gossip, causing division between loved ones, and seeking hardship for the innocent.”

Al-Khara'iti narrated it in Masawi' al-Akhlaq (2/6/1): Ahmad ibn Musa al-Mu'addil al-Bazzar narrated to us; Dawud ibn Mihran narrated to us; Marwan ibn Mu'awiyah narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Abi Musa, who said: Hubayrah ibn Abd al-Rahman informed me; Abd al-Rahman ibn Ghanm informed me; Abu Malik al-Ash'ari narrated to us, attributed to the Prophet.

I say: This is a weak chain of transmission. No one other than Ibn Hibban (5/511) declared Hubayrah ibn Abd al-Rahman trustworthy. As for Muhammad ibn Abi Musa, I have not identified him. See al-Jarh (4/1/84). It also has a corroborating report, with similar wording, from Shahr ibn Hawshab, from Asma' bint Yazid, attributed to the Prophet. It was narrated by al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad (323) and by Abu al-Shaykh in al-Tawbikh.