was seen wiping his horse’s face with his cloak. When he was asked about that, he said: “…” and then mentioned it.

I say: This chain is mursal; indeed, it has a double break, for Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd—al-Anṣārī, al-Bukhārī, the judge—heard from no Companion other than Anas, as Ibn al-Madīnī stated. Therefore, Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr said in al-Tamhīd (24/100):

“This is how the hadith appears in al-Muwaṭṭaʾ through the group of its transmitters, as far as I know. It has also been narrated from Mālik with a continuous chain, from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd from Anas, but it is not authentic.”

He then cited it through al-Naḍr ibn Salamah: ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr al-Fihrī narrated to us: Mālik narrated to us, saying: “I heard him say: I heard Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd narrate from Anas, attributing it to the Prophet.”

I say: Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr made no comment on it because its weakness is evident. I have not identified this al-Fihrī.

As for al-Naḍr ibn Salamah, he was from Marw and resided in the city of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him; it was also said that he resided in Mecca. Abū Ḥātim said:

“He used to fabricate hadith.”

More than one scholar accused him of lying; thus, he is the fatal flaw in this allegedly continuous chain.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ also mentioned it in al-Maṭālib al-ʿĀliyah (2/158/1929), through Musaddad, from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Anṣārī, from a man who said: “…” and then mentioned it. Shaykh al-Aʿẓamī commented on it:

“Al-Būṣīrī said: ‘Its narrators are trustworthy!’”

I say: How can that be, when the man was not named?! Perhaps he imagined that he was a Companion, but this is not so. For Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr narrated it in his Sunan (3438) from Ibn ʿUyaynah, and al-Dimyāṭī in