A fourth version reads:

Whenever he spoke, he would repeat himself three times, and he would seek permission three times.

Ahmad also narrated this version. In fact, it explains his statement, “and he greeted them”—that is, it was a greeting to seek permission to enter. Al-Hafiz explained it in 1/189, saying:

Al-Isma'ili said: “It appears that this occurred when he gave the greeting for seeking permission to enter, in accordance with what Abu Musa and others narrated. As for a passerby giving a greeting, the established practice is that it is not repeated.”

I say: The compiler understood precisely this, and therefore cited this hadith together with Abu Musa’s hadith concerning his incident with Umar, as will come under ‘Seeking Permission.’ Yet it is possible that this also occurred when he feared that his greeting would not be heard. Al-Kirmani’s claim that the wording mentioned indicates continuity is open to dispute. And Allah knows best.

The hadith of Abu Musa to which he referred is the one that follows.

One further point remains: the second half of the hadith has a corroborating report from Abu Umamah, attributed to the Prophet, with the wording:

Whenever he spoke, he would repeat himself three times so that he would be understood.

Al-Tabarani transmitted it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir (8/342/8095): Abu Habib Zayd ibn al-Muhtadi al-Marwazi narrated to us; Ali ibn Khashram narrated to us; al-Fadl ibn Musa narrated to us, from al-Husayn ibn Waqid, from Abu Ghalib, from him.

This is a good chain of transmission, as al-Haythami stated in al-Majma' (1/129). All of its narrators are known and are included among the narrators of al-Tahdhib, except for Ziyad ibn al-Muhtadi al-Marwazi, whose biography al-Khatib included in