“Hammad ibn Salamah, Zuhayr ibn Muʿawiyah, and a group narrated this hadith from Hisham, from Muhammad, attributing it to the Companion Abu Hurayrah. Likewise, Ayyub and Ibn ʿAwn narrated it, attributing it to the Companion Abu Hurayrah.” Al-Bayhaqi said the same.

The narration of Ayyub, which Abu Dawud cited in suspended form, was transmitted by him in (1324), and by al-Bayhaqi through his route, through Maʿmar, from Ayyub, from Ibn Sirin, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: “When …,” with the same meaning, adding: “Then let him lengthen [his prayer] afterward as much as he wishes.”

I say: Its chain of transmission is authentic.

As for the other matter—the discrepancy in the narrations from Hisham ibn Hassan—Abu Dawud mentioned it in suspended form, from the narration of Hammad ibn Salamah, Zuhayr ibn Muʿawiyah, and a group from him, attributing it to the Companion. Among that group was Hushaim ibn Bashir. Ibn Abi Shaybah said (2/272–273): “Hushaim narrated to us, saying: Hisham informed us of it,” attributing it to the Companion.

To be sure, I had documented the hadith as attributed to the Prophet in al-Irwa (2/202/453), on the basis of the narration of three other trustworthy transmitters from Hisham, and I there inclined toward giving preference to its attribution to the Prophet over its attribution to the Companion, in accordance with the principle that an addition made by a trustworthy narrator is accepted.

Thereafter, attribution to the Companion came to seem more likely to me for two reasons; for that reason, I included it in Daʿif Abi Dawud (no. 240).

Then a hidden defect became apparent to me in the narration of one of the three mentioned above, namely Abu Usamah—whose name was Hammad ibn Usamah. Muslim and al-Bayhaqi transmitted it through Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah: “Abu Usamah narrated to us, from Hisham,” through this chain, as a report attributed to the Prophet. Thus, Muslim’s transmission through this route was among the factors that had led me there to prefer its attribution to the Prophet.