It was narrated by Muslim and others, and is documented in al-Irwāʾ (4/198–199). This ruling applies specifically to one who dies in a state of ihram, whereas the hadith under discussion concerns the living; thus, the two differ. See al-Muhallā for the full discussion.

2900 — “O Abu Bakr, after this I shall never again ask you to excuse me concerning her.”

Ibn Hibban narrated it in his Sahih (319/1314—Mawārid) and (6/191/4173—al-Ihsān), through Ibn Abi al-Sari, who said: ʿAbd al-Razzaq narrated to us; Maʿmar informed us, from al-Zuhri, from Yahya ibn Saʿid ibn al-ʿAs, from Aisha: The Prophet asked Abu Bakr to excuse him in his dealings with Aisha, but the Prophet did not think that he would go as far with her as he did. Abu Bakr raised his hand, slapped her, and struck her in the chest. The Prophet was distressed by this and said: [the hadith quoted above].

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission. Its narrators are trustworthy and are narrators of al-Bukhari and Muslim, apart from Ibn Abi al-Sari. He was a hafiz and truthful, though he made many errors. His name was Muhammad ibn al-Mutawakkil. Al-Dhahabi said in al-Kāshif: “A hafiz whom they deemed trustworthy, though Abu Hatim regarded him as weak.”

I say: At the very least, someone like him may be cited as corroborative evidence, and his hadith is strengthened by a supporting chain. That is indeed the case here: the hadith appears in al-Jāmiʿ of the Musannaf of ʿAbd al-Razzaq (11/431/20923), narrated by Ishaq al-Dabari from ʿAbd al-Razzaq. This is a strong supporting chain, through which the hadith is authenticated, praise be to Allah.

Then ʿAbd al-Razzaq narrated from Maʿmar: “A man from ʿAbd al-Qays informed me that the Prophet summoned Abu Bakr and asked him to excuse him concerning Aisha. While the two of them were with him, she said, ‘You claim that you are a prophet!’ Abu Bakr rose toward her and struck her cheek, whereupon the Prophet said:”