And he said nothing about it, offering no comment whatsoever. Rather, he followed it with numerous reports containing various supplications against him—some of which I had cited in al-Da'ifah. He remained silent regarding all of them, while explicitly declaring some of them weak. He concluded them by citing the previously mentioned hadith of Aishah: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, cursed your father while you were still in his loins.” Yet, instead of explicitly declaring it authentic, he hinted that it was defective on the grounds that it conflicted with the previously cited narration of al-Bukhari. He said immediately afterward:

“I say: The basic account is found in al-Bukhari without this addition.”

I say: What value is there in this comment, when he knows that this addition has an authentic chain of transmission and comes through a route other than that of al-Bukhari?! Moreover, it is not alone in this, but has authentic corroborating reports as well, as mentioned above. I have confined myself to these rather than citing reports that might serve as supporting evidence. For, at the end of his commentary in al-Fath (13/11) on the hadith, “The destruction of my community will be at the hands of young men from Quraysh,” he said:

“Reports have been transmitted concerning the cursing of al-Hakam, Marwan’s father, and his offspring. Al-Tabarani and others transmitted them. Most of them are subject to criticism, though some are good. Perhaps what is intended is to identify the young men mentioned with them specifically.”

Still more astonishing than all this is the reservation expressed by al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi in his biography of al-Hakam in his Tarikh (2/96):

“Objectionable reports have been transmitted concerning his being cursed; it is not permissible to cite them as proof. In general, he possesses no particular distinction in Companionship, but only its general designation.”

That is what he said! Yet, only one page later, he cited al-Sha'bi’s report from Ibn al-Zubayr, declaring its chain of transmission authentic, as mentioned above! Such inconsistency—or contradiction—opens the way for followers of vain desires to take from it whatever suits their desires. We ask Allah for safety.