previously mentioned. The mention of musical instruments is well known in Hisham’s narration, but it was not stated explicitly in Bishr ibn Bakr’s narration. When the two narrations were combined, musical instruments were mentioned as though they occurred in both.” Thus he spoke—may Allah guide him—and the following may be said concerning it:

Before doing so, however, I wish to draw attention to his statement, “Even if we grant that this is a strong corroborating narration for Hisham’s hadith ...” Its wording is weak and ambiguous, and it does not make his intention clear. It could mean that he genuinely concedes the strength of this corroborating narration, or that he concedes it merely as a hypothetical assumption. I do not know whether this ambiguous wording was deliberate, or whether it was a slip of the pen or a typographical error. In either case, what matters now is the distortion, obstinacy, and denial of established scholarly facts found in the rest of his statement—namely, his claim: “Musical instruments were not stated explicitly in Bishr ibn Bakr’s narration.”

I say: This is a lie, whether you like it or not—indeed, a brazen lie. This may be demonstrated in several ways:

First: Its wording is explicitly established in al-Bayhaqi’s narration, in the very volume and page that you yourself cited (3/272)! He transmitted it through Abu Bakr al-Isma‘ili’s route: “Al-Hasan ibn Sufyan informed me: Hisham ibn Ammar narrated to us ...”

(I say: He then cited its chain of transmission and text as given above, after which he said:)

He—meaning Abu Bakr al-Isma‘ili—said: “Al-Hasan also informed me: Abd al-Rahman ibn Ibrahim narrated to us; Bishr—that is, Ibn Bakr—narrated to us; Ibn Jabir narrated to us, from ‘Atiyyah ibn Qays, who said:

“Rabi‘ah al-Jurashi stood before the people”—and he mentioned a lengthy hadith—“then there was Abd al-Rahman ibn Ghanm al-Ash‘ari. I said, ‘Was that an oath you swore?’ He said: ‘Abu ‘Amir or Abu Malik narrated to me that he heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say:

“‘There will indeed be among my community people who will deem lawful—in Hisham’s hadith: wine and silk; and in Duhaym’s hadith: khazz, silk, wine, and musical instruments—and they will surely alight