(6/337/11153), as did Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī in his Tafsīr (7/25), and likewise Ibn Abī Ḥātim (4/1201/6776), through ʿAlī ibn Mushir, from al-Aʿmash, from Ibrāhīm, from ʿAlqamah, from ʿAbd Allāh, who said: … and he cited it. Al-Tirmidhī said:

“[This is] a good and authentic hadith.”

Qays ibn al-Rabīʿ also narrated it from al-Aʿmash through the same chain. Ibn Abī Ḥātim recorded it (6778).

But Sulaymān ibn Arqam differed from them, narrating it from al-Aʿmash through the same chain, and adding to its text:

“When the prohibition of wine was revealed, the Jews said: ‘Were not your brethren who died drinking it?!’ So Allah, Most High, revealed: ‘There is no blame upon those …’” He then cited the hadith.

Al-Ṭabarānī recorded it (10/95/15011), as did al-Ḥākim (4/143–144), who said:

“Its chain of transmission is authentic, though neither of them recorded it. They only jointly recorded the abridged hadith of Shuʿbah, from Abū Isḥāq, from al-Barāʾ.”

That is what he said! Al-Dhahabī concurred with him in declaring it authentic, but this is open to criticism on several grounds:

First: Sulaymān ibn Arqam had poor retention, as stated in al-Taqrīb; therefore, there is no basis for declaring his hadith authentic.

Second: He contradicted the trustworthy ʿAlī ibn Mushir and the one who corroborated him, so his addition is rejected. However, evidence supporting it has been reported; let us see whether it strengthens it. Let us wait and see.

Third: It escaped him that Muslim had recorded it, so his assertion that neither had recorded it is one of his errors—unless he meant the addition, which I consider unlikely.

Other hadiths concerning the revelation of this verse have also been reported from a number of other Companions,