Some narrated it through another route from Abu al-Zubayr, but inserted Umar ibn al-Khattab between Jabir and the Prophet. I have therefore cited it here again through this rare, authentic chain, as corroboration for Muslim’s narration and as evidence that Jabir heard it from the Prophet directly, with no one between them.

As for what al-Mufaddal ibn Fadalah narrated from Ibn Jurayj, from Abu al-Zubayr—that he heard Jabir ibn Abd Allah say:

“The Prophet contemplated forbidding people from being named Maymun, Barakah, Aflah, and names of this sort, but then refrained.”

Ibn Hibban also recorded it (5812).

All its narrators are trustworthy, but Ibn Jurayj does not explicitly affirm direct transmission in it. Moreover, he added Maymun to the names, and this is an anomalous addition, not found in the other routes of the hadith.

The same applies to what Saʿid ibn Salim narrated from Ibn Jurayj: Abu al-Zubayr informed me that he heard Jabir ibn Abd Allah say:

“The Messenger of Allah intended to forbid people from being named Alaʾ, Barakah, Aflah, and the like; but afterwards he remained silent about it and said nothing.”

Al-Tahawi recorded it in Mushkil al-Athar (2/302).

Saʿid ibn Salim was al-Qaddah. Al-Hafiz says in al-Taqrib:

“Truthful, but prone to error; he was accused of holding irjaʾ, though he was a jurist.”

I say: It appears, then, that his mention of Alaʾ, unlike all the other trustworthy narrators, was simply one of his errors. It is also possible that this name was corrupted by some copyists from Yaʿla, for this is how it appears in—