I then found two corroborating routes for the hadith from Kaʿb ibn ʿUjrah, which reassured me that it is authentically established from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as a sacred hadith. I therefore included it in this series on their account, and also in Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd, no. 455. Allah Most High is the Guide.

4034 — “Whenever you send a messenger to me, send one handsome in appearance and bearing a good name.”

Al-Bazzār recorded it in his Musnad through his authentic chain of transmission: from Qatādah, from ʿAbd Allah ibn Buraydah, from his father, attributed to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission. It was authenticated by al-Haythamī and al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī in Mukhtaṣar al-Zawāʾid (2/203/1700, printed edition). This indicates that neither of them considered Qatādah’s use of the ambiguous “from” transmission formula objectionable, for he was known to practise concealment in transmission. Perhaps this was because he practised it only when reporting from a trustworthy narrator, as al-ʿAlāʾī relates in al-Taḥṣīl (p. 112), or because he did so rarely. Al-Ḥāfiẓ said in the Introduction to Fatḥ al-Bārī (p. 436):

“One of the well-known, firmly reliable authorities; he was proverbial for his retentiveness, though he would sometimes practise concealment in transmission.”

For this reason, in al-Taqrīb he confined himself to describing him as:

“Trustworthy and precise.”

He did not mention his concealment in transmission at all.

For this reason, we find many of the early hadith masters citing his hadith as evidence. Among them is his report from Qasāmah ibn Zuhayr, from Abū Hurayrah, with the wording:

“When the believer is near death, the angels of the Most Merciful come to him ...”

It was authenticated by Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Ḥākim, and al-Dhahabī, and was previously documented under no. 1309.