As for Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Fadl, Abu Nuʿaym’s shaykh, he said of him: “He died in the year eighty-seven,” meaning after 300 AH. He mentioned neither any criticism nor accreditation concerning him. However, he was not alone in narrating it, as will follow.

Al-Bazzar also transmitted the hadith in his Musnad (2/289/1730): Bishr ibn Sahl narrated to us; Habban ibn Hilal narrated to us through the same chain. Al-Haythami said in al-Majmaʿ (5/333): “It was narrated by al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani. Its chain includes Bishr ibn Sahl, from whom Abu Hatim wrote, but later crossed out his hadith; the rest of its narrators have been declared trustworthy.”

It also has a corroborating report from the hadith of Abu Ghalib, from Abu Umamah: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, once laughed [and he was asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what has made you laugh?”] He said: “I am amazed at people who are driven to Paradise in chains while they are unwilling.” Ahmad transmitted it (5/249 and 256), and the addition is his; however, his version does not contain the words, “while they are unwilling.” The wording is that of al-Tabarani. Al-Haythami said: “It was narrated by Ahmad and al-Tabarani, and the narrators of one of Ahmad’s two chains are the narrators of the authentic collections.”

That is what he said, but Abu Ghalib is not among the narrators of the authentic collections. He was a companion of Abu Umamah, and was truthful but made mistakes. He has been omitted from Ahmad’s other chain, just as the narrator reporting from him was not named. Thus, its first chain is good.

Another corroborating report: al-Fudayl ibn Sulayman narrated it: Muhammad ibn Abi Yahya narrated to us, from al-ʿAbbas ibn Sahl ibn Saʿd al-Saʿidi, from his father, who said: