Al-Khatib transmitted it in al-Tarikh (8/49), in the biographical entry of this al-Husayn. He related from Abu Urwah al-Harrani that he said of him:

“We wrote down hadiths from him, but then we became uncertain about his standing. Objectionable hadiths appeared in his books, so our companions abandoned his hadith.”

Al-Dhahabi summarized this in al-Mizan, saying:

“Abu Urwah and others said: ‘Abandoned.’”

Al-Hafiz commented immediately afterward:

“The ‘others’ refers to al-Azdi.”

I say: Thus he—that is, al-Husayn—is not someone whose reports can lend support.

However, the following statement of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, supports this hadith and adds to its strength:

“Allah has prescribed excellence in all things. So, when you kill, kill well; and when you slaughter, slaughter well. Let each of you sharpen his blade and spare his slaughtered animal suffering.”

It was transmitted by Muslim, Ibn al-Jarud, Ibn Hibban, the compilers of the Sunan, and others. It is documented in Irwa al-Ghalil (7/293).

And his statement, peace and blessings be upon him:

“Do you want to make it die several deaths?! Why did you not sharpen your blade before laying it down?”

Al-Hakim transmitted it and declared it authentic, and al-Dhahabi agreed with him. It is as they said, and it is documented in al-Sahihah, no. 24.