in al-Musnad, where it reads: “Abu al-ʿAlaniyah.” As for al-Ṭabarānī’s report, which he narrated through Fahd ibn ʿAwf Abū Rabīʿah, who said: “Ḥammād ibn Salamah informed us from Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī, ʿĀṣim al-Aḥwal, and Hishām ibn Ḥassān, from Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, from Abū al-ʿĀliyah ...” — the answer is straightforward: this Fahd was not trustworthy, so his narration carries no weight; how then could his contradiction be given weight?! Muslim and others discarded him, and Ibn al-Madīnī declared him a liar.

As for Hishām, what has preceded makes the matter clear. As for ʿĀṣim al-Aḥwal, ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Ziyād contradicted him. Al-Bukhārī said in al-Adab al-Mufrad (1077): “Mūsā ibn Ismāʿīl narrated to us: ʿAbd al-Wāḥid narrated to us; ʿĀṣim narrated to us; Muḥammad narrated to us from Abū al-ʿAlaniyah, who said...” He then cited it in similar wording. It includes a story, and its chain of transmission is authentic, as stated above.

As for its transmission from Ḥammād, from Ayyūb, the matter is different. I found a strong corroborating chain for it: ʿAbd al-Razzāq said in al-Muṣannaf (9/206/16947): “From Maʿmar, from Ayyūb, from Ibn Sīrīn, from Abū al-ʿĀliyah.” Could this too be due to some copyists? That is difficult to determine conclusively, unless another old manuscript of al-Muṣannaf is found besides the one on which the printed edition was based, or unless other routes from Ayyūb support it. And Allah knows best.

Moreover, Abū al-ʿĀliyah—or Abū al-ʿAlaniyah—was corroborated regarding this hadith. Qatādah said: “Four men narrated to me from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī,” and then cited it. Aḥmad narrated it (3/78) with an authentic chain of transmission. One of those four was Abū Naḍrah; Muslim (6/94) and Aḥmad (3/3) narrated it from him. It also has a supporting report from the hadith of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Awfā. Al-Bukhārī (5596) and Ibn