That is what the two of them said! As for Khalid ibn Abdullah al-Ziyadi—though it has also been said: al-Zubadi—biographers mention only two transmitters from him: Ja‘far ibn Rabi‘ah and Amr ibn al-Harith, the latter being the one who transmits from him here. Ibn Hibban included him in al-Thiqat (6/259). A narrator of this kind may have his hadith graded good, but not authentic.

His shaykh, Abu Uthman al-Asbahi, is of similar standing—or better. This is explicitly stated in al-Hakim’s chain of transmission, and likewise in his biographical notice in al-Tahdhib, where he is named Ubayd ibn Umayr. It is mentioned that a number of people besides al-Ziyadi narrated from him, but no criticism or accreditation is reported concerning him.

In Ibn Hibban’s al-Thiqat (5/568 and 576), there are two men of his generation bearing this kunyah, Abu Uthman, who narrated from Abu Hurayrah. Mu‘awiyah ibn Salih narrated from one of them, and Thabit al-Bunani from the other; so it is possible that he is this one. And Allah knows best.

Whatever the status of this narrator and the one before him may be, I hold that this hadith does not fall below the rank of good, in view of the corroborating reports dispersed throughout various hadiths. And Allah knows best. The first half of the hadith under discussion has many corroborating reports, the most authentic of them being the hadith of Anas ibn Malik, traced back to the Prophet to that effect.

It was recorded by al-Bukhari (6486), Muslim (7/92), Ibn Hibban (5762), Waki‘ in al-Zuhd (1/242/17), Ibn Abi Shaybah in al-Musannaf (13/246/16240), and Ahmad (3/180, 193, 210, 251, and 268), through numerous routes from him.

Our virtuous brother Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Firyuwai has comprehensively covered its corroborating reports and transmission routes in his commentary on al-Zuhd (1/242–244).

Note: In the aforementioned hadith of Ibn Hibban, narrated through Abu Uthman, he is identified by lineage in