3559 — “Spread salam and provide food. Be as ashamed before Allah as you would be before a man of your household. If you do wrong, then do good; and make your character as good as you can.”

It was recorded by Ibn Nasr al-Marwazi in al-Iman (folio 226/1), and by al-Bazzar (2172, Kashf al-Astar), from Ibn Lahi'ah, from Abu al-Zubayr, from Abu al-Tufayl, from Mu'adh ibn Jabal:

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, sent him to a people, so he said, “O Messenger of Allah, counsel me.” He replied: … and he mentioned it.

I say: This chain of transmission is weak because of the condition of Ibn Lahi'ah. Al-Haythami likewise declared it defective on his account (8/23), though he attributed it only to al-Bazzar.

Al-Tabarani also recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir (8/272–273), through Abu Abd al-Malik, from al-Qasim, from Abu Umamah, within a lengthy hadith concerning the campaign of Khaybar. It mentions Abu al-Tufayl and states that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to him: … and he mentioned the hadith, except that he said:

“If you do wrong, then do good, for good deeds erase bad deeds.”

Al-Haythami declared it defective (6/148), saying:

“Al-Tabarani narrated it, and it contains Ali ibn Yazid, who is weak.”

I say: He is Abu Abd al-Malik, the narrator from al-Qasim—who is Ibn Abd al-Rahman—the companion of Abu Umamah.

Among al-Manawi’s confusions is that he cited al-Haythami as declaring the hadith of Abu Umamah defective because of Ibn Lahi'ah. Yet this pertains to the hadith of Mu'adh, as has preceded, and al-Suyuti did not attribute it to al-Bazzar.