through this chain, but only through two other chains from al-Bara’ that relate his instruction, peace and blessings be upon him, rather than his practice. This was overlooked by some contemporary writers, as will follow. Al-Tabarani also recorded it in al-Du‘a’ (2/905/246) through Musaddad’s chain.

Then al-Bukhari recorded it in al-Adab al-Mufrad (1211) through the chain of Abdullah ibn Sa‘id ibn Hazim Abu Bakr al-Nakha‘i, who said: Al-Ala ibn al-Musayyib informed us of it. I say: There is no problem with this Abdullah ibn Sa‘id in corroborating reports, for three trustworthy narrators related from him. This is why al-Hafiz said in al-Taqrib: “Acceptable.”

The hadith has another chain: Khalf ibn Khalifah narrated it from Husayn, from Sa‘d ibn Ubaydah, from al-Bara’. Al-Nasa’i recorded it in Amal al-Yawm wa al-Laylah (461/785). I say: Its narrators are trustworthy and are among the narrators of the two Shaykhs, apart from Khalf ibn Khalifah, who is among Muslim’s narrators; however, he became confused in his later years.

Its text, however, was narrated differently: Mansur narrated it from Sa‘d ibn Ubaydah, from al-Bara’, as a marfu‘ report, with the wording: “When you go to your bed, perform ablution as you would for prayer; then lie down on your right side and say…” He then mentioned it, adding at the end: “And make these the last words that you speak.” He said: “So I repeated it back to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and when I reached the words, ‘O Allah, I believe in Your Book which You have sent down,’ I said, ‘And in Your Messenger!’ He said: ‘No: and in Your Prophet whom You have sent.’”