“For Malik narrated the hadith from Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAmr ibn Hazm…” and so on.” This can only be understood as referring to the hadith which he had mentioned a few lines earlier in the biographical entry for its narrator, Nadr—namely, the hadith concerning sitting on a grave, as indicated above. Yet Malik did not narrate this at all. Rather, through the chain cited by al-Hafiz, he narrated from Abu al-Nadr al-Sulami, with attribution to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, a different hadith, worded: “No Muslim has three children die…” to the end of the hadith. See al-Muwattaʾ, at the end of the Book of Funerals (1/235). It is also found in Sahih Muslim and elsewhere, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah and in similar reports; it has already preceded under no. 2302.

One final note: in the index to al-Musnad prepared by our esteemed brother Hamdi al-Salafi (3/336), there appears the following: “…—‘Do not sit on graves.’ From Abu Marthad (4/135, twice).” I say: the hadith in the place indicated is worded, “Do not sit down,” and the printed edition of al-Musnad contains no mention of it with the wording he cited, as noted above. He then says in the annotation: “See the note on the hadith: ‘Do not harm the one in the grave.’” So I looked for it in its stated place, only to find that it was a note on another hadith! In it, he points out the error of one who attributed it to Ahmad’s Musnad and denies that it is found therein!! This is just as I had mentioned in al-Mishkat. Thus the truth has become clear; and praise be to Allah, by Whose favor righteous deeds are completed.