all the misguided sects, ancient and modern alike—yet how far-fetched that is! Allah is the One whose help is sought, and there is no power or strength except through Allah.

15—At the end of Hadith 417:

It then became clear to me that there is no basis for al-Manawi’s declaring al-Bayhaqi’s version in Branches of Faith weak on account of the unknown narrator, Abd Allah ibn Abi Murrah. This rests on an error he made regarding the name of this Successor. For I found its chain of transmission in Branches of Faith—which has recently been published—and there it appears, at 6/489/9010, through Mansur, from Abd Allah ibn Murrah, from Abd Allah ibn Umar, in a report attributed to the Prophet, with the wording of the hadith under discussion, except for the words, “that he loves him.” It adds:

“For he finds in him the like of what he himself possesses.”

Its chain of transmission is authentic. This Abd Allah ibn Murrah—al-Hamdani al-Kharifi—is unquestionably trustworthy and is among the narrators of al-Bukhari and Muslim. He is not the unknown Abd Allah ibn Abi Murrah. Ibn Abi al-Dunya also transmitted it through this route in his book Brotherhood (141/74), as one of the brethren relayed to me by telephone. May Allah reward him with goodness.

16—At the end of Hadith 419:

I then found a supporting report for it from Abd Allah ibn Masud, who said:

“A time will surely come upon people when they will eat with their tongues...”

Al-Bayhaqi transmitted it in Branches of Faith (4/252/4977) with an authentic chain of transmission. It is attributed to the Companion, but carries the ruling of a report attributed to the Prophet, since it concerns matters of the unseen that cannot be stated on the basis of personal opinion. Immediately before it, he transmitted the hadith under discussion solely through Ya‘la.