I say: This chain of transmission is authentic; its narrators are those of al-Bukhari and Muslim. Al-Haythami said in al-Majmaʿ (1/118): “It was narrated by al-Tabarani in al-Muʿjam al-Kabir and by Abu Yaʿla, and its narrators are those of the authentic collections.”

I say: It has another route: ʿAmr ibn Thabit narrated it from ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAqil, from Abu Bakr ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham, from Umm Salamah: al-Harith ibn Hisham came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in the year of the Farewell Pilgrimage and said, “O Messenger of Allah, you urge maintaining ties of kinship, being kind to one’s neighbour, sheltering the orphan, feeding the guest, and feeding the poor. Hisham ibn al-Mughirah used to do all of this. So what do you think of him, O Messenger of Allah?” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, replied: “Every grave whose occupant does not testify that there is no god but Allah is an ember of the Fire. I found my uncle Abu Talib in a deep expanse of Fire, but Allah brought him out because of his standing with me and his kindness to me, and placed him in a shallow part of the Fire.”

Al-Tabarani narrated it in al-Muʿjam al-Kabir (23/405/972) and al-Muʿjam al-Awsat (2/165/2/7523), and said: “It is not narrated from Umm Salamah except through this chain of transmission.”

I say: Its apparent meaning is that he meant this complete wording; otherwise, the preceding route is through a different chain of transmission, as you have seen. Al-Haythami then declared it defective, saying: “It contains ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAqil, who is a rejected narrator; his hadith is not used as evidence, although he has been declared trustworthy.”