This is a chain of transmission whose narrators—apart from Jisr—are trustworthy and are among those relied upon by the two Shaykhs. He is Jisr ibn Farqad, and he is weak because of his poor retention. The imams differed in the severity of their criticism of him, and perhaps the fairest statement concerning him is that of Abu Hatim: “He was not strong, though he was a righteous man.” Similar is al-Bukhari’s statement in al-Tarikh (1/1/246): “He is not quite reliable.”

Al-Dhahabi alluded to what I have mentioned in al-Mizan. He cited from him a hadith concerning Allah’s Greatest Name, then commented: “This is nearly fabricated, and Jisr is incapable of bearing such a report.” Al-Hafiz endorsed him in this. I say: A narrator like him may be cited as corroborative evidence, and his report may be strengthened by others, contrary to some contemporaries who deny this because they have not mastered this discipline. For his narration has indeed been corroborated: Abu Ubaydah al-Haddad said: Muhtasib ibn Abd al-Rahman narrated to us from Thabit al-Bunani, with the same report, its wording being: “When shall I meet my brethren?” They said, “O Messenger of Allah, are we not your brethren?” He then repeated the rest of the report.

Abu Ya‘la recorded it in his Musnad (6/118); Ibn ‘Adi narrated it from him (6/2457); and al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu‘jam al-Awsat (2/39/5624), saying: “No one narrated it from Thabit except al-Muhtasib.”