They said: Sufyan narrated to us; Yahya ibn Hani narrated to us, from Abd al-Hamid ibn Mahmud, who said: “I was praying with Anas ibn Malik between the columns. Anas then stepped back, and when we had finished praying, he said: ‘During the time of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, we used to avoid this.’”

Abu Bakr ibn Ishaq informed us: Ubayd ibn Muhammad ibn Khalaf narrated to us; Uqbah ibn Makram narrated to us; Muslim ibn Qutaybah narrated to us, from Harun ibn Muslim, from Qatadah, from Muawiyah ibn Qurrah, from his father, who said: “We were forbidden to pray between the columns, and were driven away from them.” * Both chains of transmission are authentic, though neither of the two related anything on this subject. *

Abu Bakr ibn Ishaq informed us: Abu al-Muthanna narrated to us; Musaddad narrated to us; Yazid ibn Zuray narrated to us, from Humayd al-Tawil, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, liked the Emigrants and the Helpers to stand close behind him, so that they could learn from him.” * This hadith is authentic according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs, though they did not include it. *

It has an authentic supporting report concerning learning from him: Abu al-Abbas Muhammad ibn Yaqub narrated to us; Usayd ibn Asim narrated to us; al-Husayn ibn Jafar narrated to us, from Sufyan.

And his right [foot] is credited with a good deed until he enters the mosque. * Authentic. *

Shaddad Abu Talhah al-Rasibi: “I heard Muawiyah ibn Qurrah report from Anas, who said: ‘It is from the sunnah, when you enter the mosque, to begin with your right foot, and when you leave, to begin with your left foot.’” * According to the conditions of Muslim. *

Zaidah, from al-Mukhtar ibn Fulfal, from Anas: “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, urged them to pray and forbade them to depart before he himself departed after the prayer.” * According to the conditions of Muslim. *

Anas said: “We used to avoid praying between the columns.” * It has already appeared with its chain of transmission. *

Harun ibn Muslim, from Qatadah, from Muawiyah ibn Qurrah, from his father: “We were forbidden to pray between the columns, and were driven away from them.” * Authentic. *

Yazid ibn Zuray, from Humayd, from Anas: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, liked the Emigrants and the Helpers to stand close behind him, so that they could learn from him.” * According to the conditions of both of them. *

Let us now see how he declared weak the aforementioned supporting hadith of Anas, and how he contradicted the earlier and later meticulous hadith masters who declared its narrator, Abd al-Hamid ibn Mahmud, reliable and authenticated his hadith. He also deemed Ibn Hibban, al-Daraqutni, al-Dhahabi, and al-Asqalani mistaken, along with others who authenticated the hadith, including al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Hibban again, al-Hakim, and al-Dhahabi. All these imams are mistaken, in the view of Hassan—one of those who have not followed them with excellence. He thus claimed that this Abd al-Hamid was unknown, relying on Abu Hatim’s designation of him as “a shaykh,” which, in Abu Hatim’s usage, does not mean that he was unknown, as will be shown. He also relied on Abd al-Haqq’s statement concerning him: “His reports are not admissible as proof,” attributing it to al-Tahdhib; the breach of scholarly integrity involved in this will be clarified.

As for the aforementioned statement of Abd al-Haqq, there are many reasons why a person may not be cited as proof