Abu Dawud (1/122) and others—as will be cited below—report from Shuayb ibn Abi Hamza: Ibn al-Munkadir, Ibn Abi Furwa, and a number of the jurists of Madina said to me, “When you reach that phrase, say: ‘wa-ana mina-l-muslimin’ (and I am of the Muslims),” i.e. instead of the Prophet’s wording, “wa-ana awwalu-l-muslimin” (and I am the first of the Muslims). It seems, then, that some transmitters were convinced this change was necessary and inserted “and I am of the Muslims” into the very body of the hadith. Such laxity in transmission is unacceptable, as is clear. This agrees with the statement already cited from Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Rafiʿ: “I even doubted that any of them had said, ‘and I am of the Muslims.’” Ibn Abi Rafiʿ is the pivotal transmitter of the hadith; he asserted categorically that the original text reads, “and I am the first of the Muslims,” and he was unsure about the variant, “and I am of the Muslims.” Hence anyone who conveys the latter from him is either mistaken or is deliberately interpreting the wording, as noted above. For that reason al-Shafiʿi—after quoting the hadith—said: “I hold, command, and prefer all of this, and I like it to be recited exactly as it is related from the Messenger of Allah, omitting nothing, but substituting ‘and I am of the Muslims’ for ‘the first of the Muslims.’” Al-Shawkani (2/162) comments: “This is an error arising from the notion that ‘and I am the first of the Muslims’ means, ‘I am the very first person ever to possess this quality after the people lacked it.’ That is not its sense; rather, it expresses one’s haste to obey what has been commanded. A parallel expression occurs in the verse, Qul in kana lir-rahmani waladun fa-ana awwalu-l-ʿabidin (‘Say: If the All-Merciful had a child, I would be the first to worship,’ 43:81), and in Moses’s words, wa-ana awwalu-l-muʾminin (‘and I am the first of the believers,’ 7:143).” The scholars further state that no distinction is made between men and women in the prescribed formulae of remembrance and supplication, for the masculine form is used either by grammatical predominance or with all individuals in view.