what they explicitly stated; rather, he indicated that it was strengthened by introducing it with the words, “And from,” rather than, “It has been narrated.” This shows that they are not even capable of proper imitation; they flounder blindly in the pitch-black night!

Moreover, al-Haythamī added to the source references, joining al-Bazzār to “the two Muʿjams,” saying:

“And al-Bazzār.”

I say: This attribution is marked by a degree of looseness and laxity that is not hidden from anyone who has examined al-Bazzār’s narration. In his Musnad (6/47–477—al-Baḥr al-Zakhkhār), he said: “Bishr ibn Ādam narrated to us ...” and then cited his chain, as mentioned above, to Salmān, attributed to the Prophet, but with the wording:

“When a Muslim performs minor ablution and performs it well, then prays the five prescribed prayers, his sins fall away as these leaves fall away.” Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, recited: “Establish prayer at the two ends of the day and in the early hours of the night. Indeed, good deeds erase bad deeds.” (1)

I say: I fear that there is an omission in the printed edition, for this wording is only from the hadith of ʿAlī ibn Zayd, from Abū ʿUthmān al-Nahdī, from Salmān, as narrated by Aḥmad (5/437–439) and others, such as Ibn Naṣr in Taʿẓīm Qadr al-Ṣalāh (1/150/83); or else it is one of al-Bazzār’s own errors.

The hadith under discussion has also been narrated through Abān ibn Abī ʿAyyāsh, from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, from Masrūq, from Salmān, attributed to the Prophet, with the wording:

“When the believing servant stands for prayer, his sins are placed upon his head, then they scatter away from him as a palm tree’s date clusters spread out to the right and left.”