“The Prophet sent me on a mission. When I returned, he asked me:
‘How did you find yourself?’
I replied, ‘I remained in that state until I thought I had servants of my own with me! By Allah, I shall never again accept authority over even two men.’”
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Muʿjam al-Kabir (20/258–259).
Al-Haythami said, after documenting the preceding hadith of al-Miqdad:
“Al-Tabarani narrated it, and its narrators are those of the Sahih, apart from Umayr ibn Ishaq. Ibn Hibban and others declared him trustworthy, while Ibn Maʿin and others graded him weak. Abd Allah ibn Ahmad is trustworthy and reliable.”
I say: No one other than Abd Allah ibn Awn narrated from him. A narrator of this standing may be used as corroborative support, but not adduced as proof—especially since Ibn Maʿin and others graded him weak. (1) However, it is not sound to attribute an unqualified judgment of weakness to Ibn Maʿin; rather, it should be qualified by saying, “in one report,” for he declared him trustworthy in another report. His declaring Abd Allah trustworthy is beyond doubt, but this may give someone who has not examined the hadith in al-Tabarani the impression that Abd Allah was alone in narrating it. That is not so, for he also recorded it through another route; hence this clarification is necessary.
- “A cursed man will surely enter upon you”—meaning, al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As. Ahmad (2/163) and al-Bazzar in his Musnad (2/247) recorded it through Abd Allah ibn Numayr: Uthman ibn Hakim narrated to us, from Abu Umamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf, from Abd Allah ibn Amr, who said: