I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission. Its narrators are trustworthy and are narrators relied upon by the two Shaykhs, except Ibn al-Asbahani, who was a trustworthy, highly reliable narrator and one of al-Bukhari’s shaykhs.

Ibn Abi Shaybah differed from him, narrating it in al-Musannaf (1/232) from Abu Mu‘awiyah and Ibn Fudayl, from al-A‘mash, as a report attributed to the Companion. Muhammad ibn al-‘Ala’ corroborated him, narrating it from Abu Mu‘awiyah alone in the same manner. Al-Nasa’i recorded it (489/850). Da’ud and Abu al-Ahwas also corroborated him there (851 and 852), from al-A‘mash, likewise as a report attributed to the Companion. There is no doubt that the Companion-attributed version is more sound in terms of transmission. Yet in meaning, it carries the ruling of a report attributed to the Prophet, since this is not something that could be stated merely on the basis of personal opinion, as is apparent.

It is remarkable that these sources escaped al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, especially al-Nasa’i’s work, in which he narrated it both as a report attributed to the Prophet and as one attributed to the Companion. In his takhrij of al-Kashshaf (7/43), he attributed it only to Ibn Abi Shaybah, as a Companion-attributed report!

The latter part of it has another chain, narrated by Sufyan, from Abu Ishaq, from Sa‘id ibn Wahb, from ‘Abd Allah, who said: “Among the gravest sins is for a man to say to his brother, ‘Fear Allah,’ only for him to reply, ‘Mind your own business! Are you giving me orders?!’” Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir (9/119/8587).

I say: Its narrators are trustworthy, provided that Sa‘id (the original text has: Sa‘d) ibn Wahb is the Hamdani al-Khaywani from whom Muslim narrated, for they distinguished him from the Hamdani al-Thawri, and they did not