of reviling.

I say: This is how his father’s name is given as Faḍl. However, al-Mīzān and History of Baghdad (8/221–223) give it as al-Ḥakam ibn Fuḍayl, in the diminutive form, which is closer to how the name appears in al-Musnad. Accordingly, the word ʿan (“from”) between al-Ḥakam and Fuḍayl is a corruption of ibn (“son of”), just as the dot of the letter ḍād was omitted by the printer or copyist. He is trustworthy: Abu Dawud and Ibn Maʿin declared him so, while some deemed him weak without evidence.

421 — “Call people, give glad tidings and do not drive them away; make things easy and do not make them difficult.”

Muslim narrated it (6/100) through Zayd ibn Abi Unaysah, from Saʿid ibn Abi Burdah, who said: Abu Burdah narrated to us from his father, who said:

“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, sent Muʿadh and me to Yemen and said”—then he mentioned it.

He added: “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, give us a ruling concerning two drinks which we used to prepare in Yemen: al-bitiʿ, which is made from honey and left to ferment until it becomes strong; and al-mizr, which is made from maize and barley and left to ferment until it becomes strong.’” He said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, had been granted concise yet comprehensive speech, and he concluded by saying: “I prohibit every intoxicant that prevents one from prayer.”

In another narration (6/99), “and teach” occurs in place of “and do not make them difficult.”

The hadith has also been narrated with the wording, “Whenever he sent someone,” and, “Make things easy and do not make them difficult.”

422 — “Do not affirm the People of the Book, nor declare them liars. Rather, say: ‘We believe in Allah and in what has been sent down to us and what has been sent down to you.’”

Al-Bukhari narrated it (8/138; 13/385, 442) from Abu Hurayrah, who said:

“The People of the Book would read the Torah in Hebrew and explain it in Arabic to the Muslims.”