another route for it. Ibn Abī al-Dunyā said in his book Ḥusn al-Ẓann (1): “ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Jarīr narrated to us: Muslim ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us: Nūḥ ibn Qays narrated to us, from Ashʿath ibn Jābir, from Makhūl, from ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah, who said:

‘An elderly man came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, leaning on a staff, and said: “O Prophet of Allah, I have committed acts of treachery and immorality. Will I be forgiven?”’” —to the end of the hadith. This report contains no discontinuity other than that between Makhūl and ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah.

I say: I have several observations here:

First: It would perhaps have been preferable to say, “I have found a corroborating report for it,” since, as is evident, that conveys the intended meaning more clearly.

Second: In attributing it to Ibn Abī al-Dunyā, he went rather far afield, giving the impression that no one of a higher rank and greater renown had transmitted it. But this is not so, for Imam Aḥmad narrated it in al-Musnad (4/385): “Surayj ibn al-Nuʿmān narrated to us: Nūḥ ibn Qays narrated to us”—with the same chain.

Third: It does not contain the hadith under the heading, contrary to what his words, “—to the end of the hadith,” suggest.

Fourth: His statement, “It contains no discontinuity other than ...,” suggests that its narrators are trustworthy and that, were it not for the discontinuity, its chain of transmission would be authentic. This conflicts with what his teacher al-Haythamī said in Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid (1/32):

“Aḥmad and al-Ṭabarānī narrated it, and its narrators have been declared trustworthy. However, it is narrated by Makhūl from ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah, and I do not know whether he heard from him or not.”