from ‘Abd al-‘Aziz through the same chain, except that al-Nasa’i mentioned only its first part, omitting what follows concerning its length or width.
Perhaps this was due to the disagreement mentioned above between ‘Abd al-‘Aziz and the two who mentioned length in place of width.
Strangely, al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar did not attempt to reconcile the two wordings, neither in his commentary on the hadith of Hammam (6/323–324) nor in his commentary on the narration of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz (8/624–625)! All he did was mention the discrepancy between the narration of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz and al-Harith ibn ‘Ubayd, which says “sixty,” and the narration of Hammam, which says “thirty”! Thus he said: “thirty”—as it appears in his copy of the text of al-Bukhari! I have no doubt that this is an error, although I do not know to whom it is attributable, since it contradicts all those who transmitted it among the hadith collectors previously cited.
This being so, perhaps the two narrations may be reconciled by affirming them both and understanding the tent’s length to be equal to its width. If this is sound, then so be it; otherwise, the narration mentioning its length is more preponderant, since two reliable narrators agree upon it. And Allah knows best. *
- “When the Dajjal emerges, he will have water and fire with him. What people see as fire will be cool water, while what people see as cool water will be a fire that burns. Whoever among you encounters him should plunge into what he sees as fire, for it is sweet, cool water.”
It was reported by al-Bukhari (3450 and 7130), Muslim (8/196), Ibn Abi Shaybah in al-Musannaf (19351), Ahmad (5/395), al-Muhamili in al-Amali (315), and al-Tabarani (17/231–232), through ‘Abd al-Malik, from Rib‘i ibn Hirash, who said:
‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amr said to Hudhayfah, “Will you not tell us what you heard from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him?” He replied, “I heard him say …” and he mentioned the hadith. Al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others added:
‘Uqbah said, “I too heard it, in confirmation of Hudhayfah.”