That is what he said; yet Ahmad’s narration through Jisr refutes it, and this is an acceptable corroborating narration. For Ibn Hibban mentioned this Muhtasib in al-Thiqat (7/528), on the narration of Abu Shihab al-Hannat from him. Al-Jarh adds: “And Abd al-Wahid ibn Wasil, Abu Ubaydah al-Haddad”—meaning, the narrator of this hadith from him. Thus, his hadith is amenable to being graded hasan, and no one declared him weak apart from Ibn ‘Adi, who said no more than: “He narrates from Thabit hadiths that are not preserved.” This means that caution is to be exercised regarding those reports of his which he alone narrates, or in which he contradicts trustworthy narrators. That is not the case here, for, as you have seen, he was not alone in narrating it.

Moreover, it has a corroborating report, similar in meaning, from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah concerning the greeting offered at the graveyard, with the wording: “I wish that we had seen our brethren.” They said, “Are we not your brethren, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “You are my Companions, and our brethren are those who have not yet come”—to the end of the hadith. Muslim (1/150) and others recorded it. Its full documentation appears in al-Irwa’ (3/235/776), Ahkam al-Jana’iz (p. 190), and al-Ta‘liq al-Raghib (1/93).

Al-Haythami cited the hadith in al-Majma‘ (10/66) and said: “Ahmad and Abu Ya‘la narrated it. Among the narrators of Abu Ya‘la’s chain is Muhtasib Abu ‘A’idh, whom Ibn Hibban declared trustworthy and Ibn ‘Adi declared weak. The remaining narrators in Abu Ya‘la’s chain are among the narrators of the two Sahihs, apart from al-Fadl ibn al-Sabbah, who is trustworthy. In Ahmad’s chain is Jisr, who is weak; and al-Tabarani narrated it in”