3097—“If you are attacked by night, let your battle cry be: ‘Ha Mim—they shall not be aided.’”

It is narrated from al-Bara ibn Azib, may Allah be pleased with him, through Abu Ishaq Amr ibn Abdullah al-Sabi'i. There are several differing versions of its chain of transmission:

The first: Sufyan, from him, from al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufrah, who said: “Someone who heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, informed me …” and he then cited it.

It was recorded by Abu Dawud (2597), al-Tirmidhi (1682), Ibn al-Jarud in al-Muntaqa (355/1063), and al-Hakim (2/107), who said:

“Zuhayr ibn Muhammad likewise narrated it from Abu Ishaq; he narrated it to us …”

He then set out its chain through Ahmad ibn Yunus: Zuhayr narrated it to us through the same chain. He said:

“The chain of transmission is authentic according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs, except that it contains a mursal break; for the man whom al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufrah did not name is al-Bara ibn Azib.”

He then cited it through the forthcoming route of Sharik. The mursal break to which he refers pertains only to Zuhayr’s version as recorded by him, for its wording is: “From al-Muhallab … He said: ‘I heard someone narrating from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.’” This differs from Sufyan’s preceding version, which explicitly establishes continuity, since al-Muhallab said: “Someone who heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, informed me.”

However, Ahmad ibn Yunus was contradicted in his chain. Ibn Sad recorded it in al-Tabaqat (2/72), saying: Al-Hasan ibn Musa informed us; Zuhayr informed us through the same chain—but he did not mention, “He said: ‘I heard someone narrating.’” It is therefore mursal.

Al-Hasan was corroborated by al-Nasa'i, who said in A'mal al-Yawm wa-al-Laylah (399/618): Hilal ibn al-Ala informed me; Husayn narrated to us; Zuhayr narrated to us through the same chain.