I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission; its narrators are trustworthy and are among the narrators of al-Bukhari and Muslim. I have not identified the corroborating report for al-A'mash to which al-Bazzar alluded. Rather, it was Abu Mu'awiyah who was corroborated: Ahmad (6/307 and 317), Ishaq ibn Rahawayh in his Musnad (4/215/1), Abu Ya'la (12/436/7003), Ibrahim ibn Tahman in his Mashyakhah (189/143), and al-Tabarani as well (23/319/724) all recorded it through routes from al-A'mash, with the same chain.

As for the narration of Masruq, Sharik relates it from Asim, from Abu Wa'il, from Masruq, who said: “Abd al-Rahman entered upon Umm Salamah, and she said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, …’” the hadith. It does not contain the account of Abd al-Rahman and his wealth.

It was recorded by Ahmad (6/312) and al-Tabarani (23/317–318). I say: Asim—namely Ibn Bahdalah—is good in hadith so long as he does not contradict others. Here, however, al-A'mash, who is more trustworthy than him, contradicted him. Yet al-A'mash practised concealment in transmission and related it with an ambiguous “from” formula. They have listed this Asim among his teachers; thus, if he heard it from him, the hadith is good, but otherwise it is authentic, as stated above. Sharik—namely the judge Ibn Abd Allah—had poor retention, but al-Tabarani records a corroborating narration from Amr ibn Abi Qays, who was truthful but prone to errors, as stated in al-Taqrib.

Al-Haythami cited the hadith in two places in Majma al-Zawa'id (1/112 and 9/72). He first cited it through the abbreviated version—the narration of Sharik—and said: “It was narrated by Ahmad, Abu Ya'la, and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. In another narration of Abu Ya'la and Ahmad from her”—whereupon he mentioned the complete version, the narration of al-A'mash—“there is Asim ibn Bahdalah, who is trustworthy but makes mistakes.” He then cited it a second time—that is, in the other place—with the wording of the complete version, and said: