“My father narrated from him, and when he was asked about him, he said: ‘Truthful.’”

Ibn Hibban also mentioned him in al-Thiqat (8/244) and said:

“His hadith are sound.”

I say: al-Haythami’s statement concerning him, “He is weak,” is one of his errors. For no one has declared him weak, especially in view of the declarations of trustworthiness I have mentioned. Apparently, he confused him with the one mentioned in al-Mizan and elsewhere:

“Ruh ibn Hatim al-Bazzar, a Baghdadi... Ibn Ma'in said: ‘He is of no account.’”

This is abridged from Tarikh Baghdad (8/406–407).

I say: this is someone other than the narrator of this hadith. As you have seen, this narrator’s kunyah is Abu Ghassan, whereas the other has no kunyah. Although they belonged to the same generation, this is where the confusion arose. Thus, the chain of transmission is authentic, and the hadith has gained further strength. Praise be to Allah, by whose blessing righteous deeds are brought to completion.

The phrase “dark-cheeked” means that her cheeks bore a darkish discoloration. This is among the many proofs that a woman’s face is not part of the ʿawrah that must be concealed. Had it been covered, as the excessively strict claim, Abu Sa'id would not have been able to describe her cheeks. Jabir—may Allah be pleased with him—likewise described her in Sahih Muslim and elsewhere. This is cited in Hijab al-Mar'ah al-Muslimah, which I have recently retitled Jilbab al-Mar'ah al-Muslimah. *

3154—(“Allah knows that my heart loves you.” He said this to young girls from Banu al-Najjar.) Al-Tabarani narrated it in al-Mu'jam al-Saghir (p. 15, Indian edition; p. 25, al-Rawd al-Nadir), and al-Bayhaqi in Dala'il al-Nubuwwah (2/508), through two routes from Abu Khaythamah: