“His hadith is not relied upon when transmitted by Baqiyyah, with Yahya ibn Sa'id below him in the chain; rather, his hadith is taken into consideration when trustworthy transmitters narrate from him.”

I say: This is so for two reasons:

First, Baqiyyah explicitly stated direct transmission, as you have seen. The only concern is his use of an unqualified “from,” but that concern has now been removed.

Second, Isma'il ibn 'Ayyash corroborated him. He said: Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Himyari narrated to us the same report, with the wording:

“When he came to a people’s house, he would approach it from the side of its wall, rather than come directly facing its door.”

Ahmad also transmitted it, as did his son 'Abdullah, through their aforementioned chain of transmission: al-Hakam narrated to us; Isma'il ibn 'Ayyash narrated to us from him.

This is an authentic chain of transmission, for Ibn 'Ayyash is trustworthy in his narrations from Syrians, and this is one of them. For this Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rahman—namely, Ibn 'Irq, a Syrian from Homs—Duhaym said: “I know of him only as trustworthy.”

Ibn Hibban likewise declared him trustworthy, as mentioned above.

Al-Tabarani also transmitted it through his route in al-Kabir, with the wording: 'Abdullah ibn Busr said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say:

“Do not approach houses through their doors; rather, approach them from their sides and seek permission to enter. If you are granted permission, then enter; otherwise, return.”