Rashid, who is trustworthy, as stated in al-Taqrib.

Al-Mundhiri said in al-Targhib (3/152):

“Abu Dawud and al-Tabarani narrated it with a good chain of transmission. Al-Tabarani added: ‘And he does not leave it.’”

The hadith has two other routes:

The first is through al-Muthanna ibn Yazid, from Matar al-Warraq, from Nafi', from Ibn Umar, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with the same meaning. He said:

“Whoever assists in an unjust dispute incurs Allah’s wrath.”

Abu Dawud recorded it in this manner. Al-Muthanna is unknown, but he has been corroborated regarding this final statement, as I documented in Irwa’ al-Ghalil (2376).

The other route was recorded by Ahmad (2/82), from Ayyub ibn Salman, a man from the people of San'a', from Ibn Umar, attributed to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with wording similar to it. He added at the end:

“Observe the two rak'ahs of Fajr regularly, for they are among the virtuous deeds.”

Its chain of transmission is weak. This Ayyub is unknown, as stated in al-Ta'jil, while the rest of the narrators in its chain have been declared trustworthy.

It has a third route, but it is very weak. Al-Khatib recorded it (8/379), saying: Abu Nu'aym al-Hafiz narrated to us: Lahiq ibn al-Husayn ibn Imran ibn Abi al-Ward narrated to us; Abu Sulayman Dawud ibn Sulayman ibn Dawud al-Isfahani—who came to Baghdad—narrated to us; Abu al-Salt Sahl ibn Isma'il al-Muradi narrated to us: Malik ibn Anas narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Salim ibn Abd Allah, from his father, attributed to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with the same wording.

He said: “It is a spurious hadith from Malik and those above him, and Lahiq was not trustworthy.”