for his hadith to be solitary. Al-Jariri—whose name was Sa‘id ibn Iyas—is relied upon in the two Sahihs. Although he became confused during the three years before his death, his confusion was not severe. Perhaps for this reason Ibn Hibban relied upon him in his Sahih, following the two Sahihs, and narrated extensively from him. A narrator such as him should therefore be relied upon unless his error becomes evident. Thus, if he is corroborated or has supporting reports—as is the case with this hadith of his—its solitary nature does not harm it, Allah willing.
Moreover, it has a corroborating report stronger than those mentioned above, though in my view it conveys the same meaning. It is the hadith of ‘Urfajah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say:
“Whoever comes to you while you are united under one man, seeking to break your unity or divide your community, kill him.”
It was narrated by Muslim, Abu ‘Awanah (4/461–464), and Ibn Hibban (6/294/4389). The wording is Muslim’s, and it is one of Abu ‘Awanah’s narrations. He also narrated it in other similar wordings, as did others. It is cited in al-Irwa’ (8/105). *
- “A time will surely come upon my community when they will wish for the Dajjal.” I said: “O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you! What will cause that?” He said: “Because of the hardship or exhaustion they will endure.”
Al-Tabarani narrated it in al-Mu‘jam al-Awsat (1/259): ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated to us: Ahmad ibn ‘Umar al-Waki‘i narrated to us; Qabisah ibn ‘Uqbah narrated to us; ‘Ubayd ibn Tufayl, Abu Saydan al-‘Absi, narrated to us: I heard Shaddad ibn ‘Ammar say: Hudhayfah said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said … and he then cited it. He said:
“No one narrated it from ‘Ubayd ibn Tufayl except Qabisah, and Ahmad ibn ‘Umar al-Waki‘i was alone in narrating it.”