3167—“Moses was sent while he was a shepherd of sheep; David was sent while he was a shepherd of sheep; and I was sent while I was a shepherd of sheep at Ajyad.”

Al-Bukhari recorded it in al-Tarikh (3/2/113–114) and al-Adab al-Mufrad (577), and al-Dulabi in al-Kuna (1/92), through the route of Shuʿbah: “I heard Abu Ishaq say: ‘I heard ʿAbdah ibn Hazn say: The camel owners and the sheep owners boasted against one another, whereupon the Prophet said …’” He then cited it.

Al-Nasa’i also recorded it through this route in al-Kubra, in the section on exegesis, as stated in Tuhfat al-Ashraf.

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission, provided that ʿAbdah ibn Hazn’s Companionship is established. There is disagreement over whether he was a Companion, as you will find explained in al-Isabah and al-Tahdhib. In al-Tajrid, al-Dhahabi considered it more likely that he was not a Companion. In al-Jarh wa al-Taʿdil (6/89/454) and al-Marasil (136/240), both by Ibn Abi Hatim, he affirmed that he was a Successor and not a Companion. And Allah knows best.

Zuhayr differed from Shuʿbah, saying: “Abu Ishaq informed us: There was a dispute between the sheep owners and the camel owners, and the camel owners acted arrogantly toward them. Then it reached us—and Allah knows best—that the Prophet said …” He then cited it.

Thus, he omitted ʿAbdah ibn Hazn from the chain of transmission, rendering it a report with a double break. The sounder version is the one that retains him.

It is corroborated by the hadith of Abu Saʿid al-Khudri, who said:

“The camel owners and the sheep owners boasted before the Prophet, whereupon the Prophet said:”