—as far as I know, was not declared trustworthy by anyone besides Ibn Ḥibbān (1/173). It is well known that his declarations of trustworthiness are not relied upon by the verifying scholars and critics, among them al-Dhahabī himself. This is why al-Ḥāfiẓ did not declare him trustworthy in al-Taqrīb, but merely said of him:

“Acceptable”—that is, when corroborated; otherwise, he is weak in hadith, as he explicitly stated in the introduction.

This makes clear that al-Dhahabī’s objection to al-ʿUqaylī is without substance, and that the hadith has two defects: Saʿīd al-Warrāq and ʿAṭiyyah al-Juhanī.

In sum, the hadith has been transmitted through chains from the Companions we have mentioned. Although none of these individual chains is free of weakness, the weakness in some of them is not severe. Therefore, I consider that, taken together, they rise to the level of good, at the very least. And Allah knows best.

344 — “O young boy, when you eat, say, ‘In the name of Allah,’ eat with your right hand, and eat from what is nearest to you.”

Al-Ṭabarānī recorded it in al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr (3/2/2): ʿUbayd ibn Ghannām narrated to us; Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated the hadith to us. And Aḥmad ibn ʿAmr al-Khallāl al-Makkī narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿUmar al-ʿAdanī narrated to us. Both said: Sufyān narrated to us, from al-Walīd ibn Kathīr, from Wahb ibn Kaysān, from ʿAmr ibn Abī Salamah, who said:

“I was a young boy under the care of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and my hand would move about in the dish. So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to me …” He then mentioned it.

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission meeting the criteria of the two Shaykhs. Both of them recorded it through routes from Wahb, with this wording:

“… Mention Allah’s name …”