ʿAbd al-Hamid ibn Jaʿfar, from ʿAbd Allah ibn Thaʿlabah, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Kaʿb ibn Malik, who said: “I heard your father say,” and he then cited it.

I say: All the narrators in this chain are trustworthy, unlike the preceding one, which includes ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn ʿUbayd Allah al-Himsi, who is weak. As for his teacher, ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUbayd Allah ibn Hakim ibn Hizam, I have not found a biographical entry for him.

This chain agrees with the preceding one in naming the man as “ʿAbd Allah ibn Kaʿb,” contrary to the last chain, which names him “ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Kaʿb”; and the latter is stronger. Both ʿAbd Allah and ʿAbd al-Rahman are trustworthy.

Taken together, these three chains lead us to be convinced that there was an intermediary between ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Umamah and his father.

This is further supported by what al-Tabarani also narrated through an authentic chain from al-Munib ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Umamah ibn Thaʿlabah, who said:

“I left the mosque, when I encountered a man wearing white garments: a full-length tunic and cloak, and a turban without a cap, which he had let hang behind him as far as it hung before him. He said to me: ‘Your grandfather, Abu Umamah ibn Thaʿlabah, informed me from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said...’” And he then cited it.

It appears that this unnamed man was Ibn Kaʿb ibn Malik. If so, then ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Umamah related this hadith in the manner mentioned in the preceding chains, while his son al-Munib related it as stated in this report. However, this al-Munib is unknown: no one narrated from him except his son ʿAbd Allah, who is the one who transmitted this hadith from him. Therefore, his narration cannot be relied upon.

In summary, the narrators differed concerning ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Umamah in this