Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah - Nasir al-Din al-Albani - (7/187)

Nor is this contradicted by His saying thereafter:

“Indeed, those who disbelieve after having believed and then increase in disbelief—their repentance will never be accepted, and they are the astray. Indeed, those who disbelieve and die as disbelievers—not even the earth’s fill of gold will be accepted from any of them, even if he were to offer it as ransom. They will have a painful punishment, and they will have no helpers.”

This is because what is meant is that their repentance will not be accepted at the time of death, as Allah Most High says:

“Repentance is not for those who persist in evil deeds until, when death comes to one of them, he says, ‘Now I repent’; nor is it for those who die as disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful punishment.” [Al-Nisa 4:18]

Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said this. *

3067—“Were it not that I would cause hardship to my community, I would have made the use of the tooth-stick obligatory upon them, just as I made minor ablution obligatory upon them.”

Ibn Abi Shaybah transmitted it in al-Musannaf (1/170): Ubaydah ibn Humayd narrated to us: al-A‘mash narrated to us, from Abd Allah ibn Yasar, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla, from one of the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who attributed it directly to him, saying ... and he then cited it.

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission. Its narrators are trustworthy, all of them narrators used by al-Bukhari except Abd Allah ibn Yasar—the al-Juhani of Kufah—whom al-Nasai and Ibn Hibban declared trustworthy. A number of trustworthy narrators reported from him. The anonymity of a Companion does not detract from it, and he may have been Abu Hurayrah. Otherwise, the following is a corroborating report for it: Hammad ibn Zayd narrates it from Abd al-Rahman al-Sarraj, from Sa‘id ibn Abi Sa‘id al-Maqburi, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“Were it not that I would cause hardship to my community, I would have made the tooth-stick obligatory upon them with every minor ablution.”

ولا ينافي ذلك قوله تعالى بعدها: (إن الذين كفروا بعد إيمانهم ثم ازدادوا كفراً لن تقبل توبتهم وأولئك هم الضالون. إن الذين كفروا وماتوا وهم كفار فلن تقبل من أحدهم ملء الأرض ذهبا ولو افتدى به أولئك لهم عذاب أليم وما لهم من ناصرين) . ذلك؛ لأن المقصود: لن تقبل توبتهم عند الممات كما قال تعالى: (وليست التوبة للذين يعملون السيئات حتى إذا حضر أحدهم الموت قال إني تبت الآن ولا الذين يموتون وهم كفار أولئك أعتدنا لهم عذاباً أليماً) [النساء/١٨] . قاله الحافظ ابن كثير. * ٣٠٦٧- (لولا أن أشُقَّ على أمتي؛ لَفَرَضْتُ على أمتي السِّوَاكَ كما فَرَضْتُ عليهم الوضوءَ) . أخرجه ابن أبي شيبة في "المصنف " (١/ ١٧٠) : حدثنا عبيدة بن حميد قال: حدثنا الأعمش عن عبد الله بن يسار عن عبد الرحمن بن أبي ليلى عن بعض أصحاب النبي ﷺ رفعه قال ... فذكره. قلت: وهذا إسناد صحيح، رجاله ثقات رجال البخاري؛ غير عبد الله بن يسار- وهو الجهني الكوفي- وثقه النسائي وابن حبان، وروى عنه جمع من الثقات، وجهالة الصحابي لا تضر، ومن الممكن أن يكون أبا هريرة؛ وإلا فهو شاهد له: يرويه حماد بن زيد عن عبد الرحمن السراج عن سعيد بن أبي سعيد المقبري عن أبي هريرة قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ: "لولا أن أشق على أمتي لفرضت عليهم السواك مع كل وضوء".