who said: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, ...” and then related it.

Al-Bayhaqi also transmitted it in al-Sunan (8/157–158), through Abu al-Mughirah and others, from al-Awza'i, with the same chain. Ibn Hibban likewise transmitted it (8/229/6624 and 6625).

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission. Its narrators are trustworthy narrators of the two Shaykhs, apart from this Abu Bakr, whose name was Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Zanjuyah al-Baghdadi; he is unanimously deemed trustworthy.

The hadith has a corroborating narration from Abdullah ibn Umar, transmitted by al-Tabarani in al-Awsat; but it contains Muslimah ibn Ali, who is abandoned, as stated in Majma' al-Zawa'id (7/270).

Its latter part is also corroborated by another report from Umm Salamah, attributed to the Prophet, with the wording:

“There will be rulers, and you will recognize and disapprove. Whoever recognizes [their wrongdoing]—or, in another narration, disapproves of it—is absolved; whoever denounces it is safe. But whoever approves and follows...”

They asked, “Should we not fight them?” He replied, “No, so long as they pray.”

Muslim (6/23), Abu Awanah (4/471–473), al-Bayhaqi as well, Abu Dawud (4760), al-Tirmidhi (2266)—who said, “A good, authentic hadith”—and Ahmad (6/295, 302, 305, 306, and 321) transmitted it. Through Ahmad’s chain, al-Mizzi transmitted it in his Tahdhib, as did al-Tabarani in al-Kabir (23/331), through Dubbah ibn Muhassin, from her.

Note: An addition appears at the end of this hadith of Umm Salamah in Sahih al-Jami' (3618): “he is not absolved.” It has no basis in any of the sources we have mentioned, and should therefore be deleted.

Then, years after this hadith documentation, I came across a criticism of the chain of this hadith of Umm Salamah by the editor of Riyad al-Salihin, the so-called Hassan Abd al-Mannan. In his comment on the hadith, he said (p. 89/129):