As for al-Dhahabi, however, he regarded him as acceptable, saying in al-Mizan (The Balance):

“There is disagreement as to whether his reports may be adduced as evidence. This is what Ibn al-Jawzi said, but the man is truthful.”

I say: A narrator of this kind has good hadiths, Allah willing, provided that he does not contradict the reliable narrators. Yet he did contradict them in the wording of the hadith, as will shortly be explained, Allah willing.

Abu Ya‘la also narrated it through him (6/84), in abridged form, with the wording:

“He used to say:

‘O Allah, truly the good is the good of the Hereafter, so forgive the Ansar and the Emigrants.’”

I say: Although the narrator from Zakariyya in Abu Ya‘la’s chain was Suwayd ibn Sa‘id, who is weak, this is the correct version of Anas’s hadith. Zakariyya was corroborated in this by Hammad ibn Salamah, from Thabit, from Anas, in a more complete wording:

“The Companions of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, used to say on the day of the Trench:

‘We are those who pledged allegiance to Muhammad,
to Islam for as long as we live’

—or, “to jihad,” as Hammad was unsure—and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would say:

‘O Allah, truly the good ...’ etc.”

It was recorded by Muslim (5/189), Ahmad (3/252 and 288), Abu Ya‘la as well (6/70/3324), and al-Bayhaqi in al-Dala’il (The Proofs) (3/141). Hammad paired Humayd with Thabit. It was also recorded by al-Bukhari (3796 and 4099), al-Nasa’i in al-Sunan al-Kubra (The Major Sunan) (5/270/8859), Ibn Sa‘d (2/70), and al-Bayhaqi as well (3/410), and in al-Sunan (7/43),