Ahmad also narrated it (3/397): Khalaf ibn al-Walid related to us: Khalid related to us, through the same chain. In it, however, the name appears as Khalid ibn Humayd al-Aʿraj, which is a scribal error.

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission. All its narrators are trustworthy and are narrators found in the two Sahihs, except Wahb ibn Baqiyyah, who is a narrator of Muslim alone. Khalaf ibn al-Walid corroborated him, and there is no issue with him in corroborative reports.

Usamah ibn Zayd al-Laythi also corroborated him, from Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir, through the same chain. Ahmad narrated it (3/357), and its chain is good.

It also has a supporting report from the hadith of Sahl ibn Saʿd al-Saʿidi, who said:

“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to us while we were reciting, and he said: ‘Praise be to Allah. The Book of Allah is one, yet among you are the red, the white, and the black. Recite it …’”

The hadith.

Abu Dawud and Ibn Hibban, in his Sahih (no. 1876), narrated it from ʿAmr ibn al-Harith—Abu Dawud additionally included Ibn Lahiʿah—from Bakr ibn Sawadah, from Wafaʾ ibn Shurayh al-Sadafi, from Sahl ibn Saʿd, through the same report. However, it states: “He seeks its reward immediately and does not defer it.”

I say: Its narrators are trustworthy narrators of Muslim, with the exception of Ibn Lahiʿah and this Wafaʾ. No one other than Ibn Hibban declared Wafaʾ trustworthy, and none narrated from him except this Bakr and Ziyad ibn Nuʿaym. For this reason, al-Hafiz described him as “acceptable” and did not declare him trustworthy.

The version narrated by Ibn Lahiʿah was also recorded by the Imam in al-Musnad (3/146, 155), through two routes from him, except that he made it part of the Musnad of Anas ibn Malik rather than that of Sahl. Perhaps this was one of his errors, for he was known to have a poor memory. In one version he said, “from Wafaʾ al-Khawlani,” and in the other, “from Abu Hamzah al-Khawlani.” If he preserved this correctly, it is a rare and valuable piece of information not found in the biographical works: he attributed him to Khawlan and gave him the kunyah Abu Hamzah. This is not mentioned in his entry in al-Tahdhib or elsewhere.