411 — “O Fatimah, would you be pleased for people to say: ‘Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, has a chain of fire in her hand’?”
Al-Nasa’i (2/285) and al-Tayalisi (p. 133, no. 990) narrated it, and through his route al-Hakim (3/152–153), from Hisham, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from Abu Salam, from Abu Asma’, from Thawban, who said:
“The daughter of Hubayrah came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, wearing large gold rings on her hand. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, began striking her hand, so she went to Fatimah to complain to her. Thawban said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, entered upon Fatimah while I was with him. She had taken a gold chain from around her neck and said, while holding the chain in her hand, ‘Abu al-Hasan gave this to me as a gift.’ The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, then said”—and he mentioned the hadith—“and left without sitting down. Fatimah then took the chain, sold it, bought a slave with its price, and set him free. When this reached the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, he said: ‘Praise be to Allah, who saved Fatimah from the Fire.’”
Al-Hakim, as did al-Dhahabi, said: “Authentic according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs.”
This is what they said, but Abu Salam, whose name was Mamtur, and his teacher Abu Asma’, whose name was ʿAmr ibn Murthid, were not narrated by al-Bukhari in his Sahih; rather, he narrated from them only in al-Adab al-Mufrad. Moreover, there is a break in the chain between Yahya and Abu Salam, for it has been said that he did not hear from him. Furthermore, Yahya practised tadlis; al-ʿUqayli and Ibn Hibban described him as such.
I say: However, al-Nasa’i (2/284) and Ahmad (5/278) narrated it through two routes from Yahya, who said: “Zayd ibn Salam told us that his grandfather”—meaning Abu Salam—“told him that Abu Asma’ told him this.” This is an uninterrupted, authentic chain. Ahmad added after the words, “striking her hand”: “Would you be pleased that Allah should place rings of fire on your hand?!”
It also shows that he severely reproved Fatimah.