I say: It seems to me that he came to regard “ʿAbd Allah ibn Ruzayq” as an error, and that the correct form is “Ruzayq Abū ʿAbd Allah,” as was previously related from al-Khaṭīb. Ibn Ḥibbān declared him trustworthy, so he relied on him, as was his custom. Allah knows best.

The sourcing and discussion of this portion of the hadith have already preceded under hadith 2394 in this book.

Moreover, most of the hadith’s clauses have corroborating reports that confirm their authenticity:

First: eating while reclining. Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd Allah ibn Abī Mulaykah narrated from Ibn Abī Īhāb [from his father] that he said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said—or: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, forbade us to eat while reclining.

Al-Bazzār narrated it (3/331/2870—Kashf al-Astār), but omitted the words in brackets. I restored them from Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid (5/24), where he said:

“Al-Bazzār narrated it through Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd Allah ibn Abī Mulaykah. I did not recognize this Muḥammad, but the rest of its narrators are trustworthy.”

That is what he said! Ibn Abī Ḥātim mentioned this Muḥammad in his book (4/1/3) and related from Ibn Maʿīn that he said:

“Weak.”

Al-Dhahabī relied on this in al-Mīzān, saying:

“Ibn Maʿīn declared him weak; he narrated only a small number of reports.”

Al-Ḥāfiẓ concurred with him in al-Lisān.

Al-Dhahabī likewise listed him under “Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allah,” giving the name in its full form, and said: