Abu al-Zubayr, that Jabir informed him that he said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say—then he cited it, adding at its end: “Qutaybah said: That is, Medina.”

I say: This addition has also been corroborated. Ahmad said (3/393): “Hasan narrated to us: Ibn Lahi‘ah narrated to us: Abu al-Zubayr informed us. He said: Jabir also informed me that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘Medina is like a blacksmith’s bellows. Abraham declared Mecca sacred, and I declare Medina sacred. It is like Mecca: all that lies between its two lava tracts, together with its entire protected pastureland, is sacred. No tree is to be cut from it, except when a man takes some of it as fodder. By Allah’s leave, neither plague nor the Dajjal shall come near it, and the angels guard its mountain passes and gates.’”

He said: “And I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘It is not lawful for anyone to carry weapons there for fighting.’”

I say: The narrators of its chain are trustworthy and are narrators of Muslim, apart from Ibn Lahi‘ah. He is trustworthy, but has poor retention. Al-Haythami said in al-Majma‘ (3/304): “Ahmad narrated it, and it contains Ibn Lahi‘ah. His hadith is good, though he has been subject to criticism.”

I say: The hadith under discussion has a corroborating narration with an authentic chain from him—namely, Ma‘qil ibn ‘Ubayd Allah al-Jazari—from Abu al-Zubayr, from Jabir, in a report traced back to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), with the wording: “It is not lawful for anyone to carry weapons in Mecca.” Muslim recorded it (4/111), as did al-Baghawi through Muslim’s route in Sharh al-Sunnah (7/302), and Ibn Hibban (3706—al-Ihsan).