482 — “Show mercy, and you will be shown mercy; forgive, and Allah will forgive you. Woe to those who are mere funnels for words! Woe to those who persist—those who knowingly persist in what they have done.”

Al-Bukhari recorded it in al-Adab al-Mufrad (no. 380), Ahmad (2/165, 219), and Abd ibn Humayd in al-Muntakhab min al-Musnad (42/1), through Hariz ibn Uthman, who said: Habban ibn Zayd narrated to us from Abd Allah ibn Amr, attributing it to the Prophet.

I say: This is an authentic chain of transmission; all its narrators are trustworthy. Al-Mundhiri said in al-Targhib (3/155): “Ahmad narrated it with a good chain of transmission.”

Al-Iraqi said likewise, as cited in al-Manawi’s Fayd al-Qadir, which states: “Al-Haythami said: Ahmad’s narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, apart from Habban ibn Zayd al-Sharabi, whom Ibn Hibban declared trustworthy. Al-Tabarani also narrated it similarly.” End quote. The compiler marked it as authentic, though therein lies the apparent issue.

I say: There is nothing in this that conflicts with its authenticity, for the description “good” may accompany authenticity, though it may also conflict with it when it is intended to mean a rank below it—namely, good. That is not necessarily what is meant here.

Abu Dawud likewise declared Habban ibn Zayd trustworthy in saying: “All of Hariz’s shaykhs are trustworthy.” Therefore, al-Hafiz said in al-Taqrib: “Trustworthy, from the third generation. Whoever claimed that he was a Companion was mistaken.”