Al-Mundhiri (1/211/13)—followed by al-Haythami (10/122), and then imitated by the three imitators (1/471)—said:

“Ahmad narrated it with a good chain of transmission!”

I say: Ibn Lahiʿah was poor in retention, as is well known; thus, it is good by virtue of the corroborating report mentioned before it and those to follow.

Huyayy ibn Abdullah was also corroborated: Abd al-Rahman ibn Ziyad ibn Anʿum narrated from Abdullah ibn Yazid, from Abdullah ibn Amr, and mentioned it similarly to the hadith of Ibn Lahiʿah.

It was recorded by Abd ibn Humayd in al-Muntakhab min al-Musnad (1/301/338), as well as by al-Tabarani (13/26/52) and al-Bayhaqi in al-Daʿawat al-Kabir (2/112/353). Both of the latter include the passage in which Abu Bakr is taught the supplication.

Its chain of transmission is weak, for Ibn Anʿum—namely, the African—is weak.

It has another route: Abu Rashid al-Hubrani said:

I came to Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As and said to him, “Tell us what you heard from the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace.” He then placed a sheet before me and said, “This is what the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, wrote for me.” I looked at it and found in it that Abu Bakr al-Siddiq said, “O Messenger of Allah, teach me what I should say when morning comes and when evening comes.” The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied:

“O Abu Bakr, say ...” He then mentioned the supplication up to the words: “and from committing an evil against myself or bringing it upon a Muslim.”