He also indicated that he preferred it, which is what al-Tirmidhi had preferred earlier.

Al-Hafiz said in the biographical notice on Abd al-Rahman ibn Sa'idah in al-Isabah:

“This is the preserved version.”

Ibn al-Mubarak likewise transmitted it in al-Zuhd (77/271—Nu'aym), and Ibn Abi al-Dunya in The Description of Paradise (78/244), by way of Sufyan, as a mursal report.

In summary: when the connected report of al-Mas'udi from Buraydah, may Allah be pleased with him, is combined with this authentic mursal report, the hadith rises to the level of good, at the very least. And Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, knows best.

The final sentence of Buraydah’s hadith is corroborated by the hadith of al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah, attributed to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, concerning the lowest-ranking inhabitant of Paradise. Its wording is:

“Then, on the fifth occasion, he says, ‘I am satisfied, my Lord!’ He says, ‘This is yours, along with ten times its like; and you shall have whatever your soul desires and whatever delights your eye...’” The rest of the hadith.

Muslim transmitted it (1/121). *

3002—“Indeed, the beautiful maidens of Paradise sing, saying: ‘We are the beautiful maidens, bestowed upon noble husbands.’”

Al-Bukhari transmitted it in al-Tarikh al-Kabir (4/1/16), Ibn Abi Dawud in The Resurrection and Gathering (no. 75), and al-Tabarani in al-Awsat (6642), through several routes from Ibn Abi Fudayk, from Ibn Abi Dhi'b, from Awn ibn al-Khattab ibn Abd Allah ibn Rafi', from a son of Anas