Among the strange—indeed, ironic—things is that I had traced this very hadith in response to that contrarian’s declaring it defective in his annotation to his edition of Riyad al-Salihin, where he said (p. 220): “Its chain of transmission warrants scrutiny!”
That is all he said, leaving it vague and offering no explanation. I think that he agrees with the Ibadi in declaring it defective on account of a break in its chain, since Muslim too narrates it through Alqamah from his father.
I believe that these two examples are enough to convince every fair-minded and rational person that this contrarian follows the way of the people of deviant desires in contriving defects with which to impugn authentic hadiths, whether deliberately or otherwise—Allah will hold him to account.
Yet I offer this advice to everyone who accepts sincere counsel: “Desist; it is better for you.”
To continue: one matter remains, namely, to furnish proof that he has breached scholarly integrity. So let me confine myself to the fewest examples possible. The discussion has already become longer than I wished, and far longer than the matter deserves. Allah is the One whose help is sought:
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As noted earlier, he quoted from al-Tahdhib Abd al-Haqq’s statement concerning Abd al-Hamid: “His reports are not admitted as proof.” Yet he did not quote the rest of it, namely al-Hafiz’s statement: “Ibn al-Qattan refuted him, saying: ‘I have not seen anyone mention him among the weak narrators.’”
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He quoted (p. 15) from al-Fath al-Qurtubi’s statement that the reason prayer between columns is disliked is that it is where the jinn pray. He then criticized this view, but failed to cite al-Hafiz’s correct reason, which al-Hafiz mentioned on the facing page alongside al-Qurtubi’s statement: “The specific prohibition against praying between columns, as al-Hakim narrated from Anas through an authentic chain of transmission.”
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He said (p. 18), explaining al-Hakim’s leniency in authenticating Qurrah’s hadith: