al-Sunnah (2/177/345)—and he too graded it authentic—and Aḥmad (2/484), all through al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from his father.
- Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, from Abū Hurayrah.
It was recorded by Muslim and Aḥmad (2/359).
- al-Ḥasan—namely, al-Baṣrī—from Abū Hurayrah.
It was also recorded by Aḥmad (2/414).
I say: The convergence of these routes does not inspire confidence that the phrase concerning Ramadan is established in the hadith of Abū Hurayrah.
However, I have found some routes and corroborating reports for it. Let us set them out and examine whether we can find among them anything by which it may be strengthened.
First: Ibn Abī al-Dunyā said in The Virtues of Ramadan (64/36):
Abū Saʿīd al-Madanī narrated to us: Isḥāq ibn Muḥammad al-Farawī narrated to us: Yazīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik narrated to us, from Saʿīd ibn Abī Saʿīd, from Abū Hurayrah, attributed to the Prophet, with the wording:
“The month of Ramadan expiates what lies before it, until the coming month of Ramadan.”
I say: This is a very weak chain of transmission. Abū Saʿīd al-Madanī was ʿAbd Allāh ibn Shabīb al-Rabʿī. Al-Dhahabī said:
“A learned historian, but weak. Abū Aḥmad al-Ḥākim said: ‘His hadith is rejected.’”
As for Isḥāq ibn Muḥammad al-Farawī, he was one of al-Bukhārī’s teachers. They declared him weak because of his poor memory.