Ibn Hibban mentioned him in al-Thiqat (8/268) and said:

“Al-Hasan ibn Sufyan and Abu Ya'la narrated from him. His hadith may be used as corroborative evidence, except for his narrations from his father.”

I say: Abdan also narrated from him. Thus, three trustworthy hadith masters narrated from him. There is also a fourth hadith master, Abu Zur'ah, as Ibn Abi Hatim mentioned—and he narrates only from a trustworthy narrator. He is therefore trustworthy. The sole flaw in this report is this Rushayd. In Ibn al-Sunni, he is named by his patronymic, Abu Abd Allah, and likewise in Ibn Adi's al-Kamil. Ibn Adi said of him:

“He narrated from Thabit reports that were not corroborated. He also narrated other than this hadith from Thabit. This hadith is only narrated from Awf, from Thumamah, from Anas. It was narrated from Awf by Isa ibn Yunus, Ibn Abi Adi, Umar ibn al-Numan, and Muhammad ibn Ishaq, the historian of the Prophetic campaigns.”

Al-Dhahabi—and al-Asqalani followed him—said: “Unknown.” Al-Haythami likewise said so (10/42).

Muhammad ibn Thabit al-Bunani corroborated him, saying: “My father narrated it to me,” except that he said:

“By Allah, I truly love you.”

This is the preserved version, for it agrees with the hadith under the present heading, unlike Rushayd's hadith, which is rejected. Ibn al-Sunni also recorded it (224), stating that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, encountered women, children, and servants returning from a wedding celebration. He greeted them and said: ... then he cited it.

The reference to the wedding is supported by a hadith of al-Rubayyi bint Mu'awwidh, which indicates that this took place when her marriage was consummated.