(1) Ahmad recorded it (4/258, 377), as did al-Bayhaqi (7/279) and likewise al-Tirmidhi (2/384), through the isnad of Shuʿbah—Simak ibn Harb—Mirri ibn Qatari—ʿAdi ibn Hatim. Ibn Hibban also transmitted it (1/274, no. 333, al-Ihsan). The chain is sound (hasan) as it stands: all its narrators are reliable and belong to Muslim’s tier except Mirri ibn Qatari. Ibn Hibban declared him trustworthy, and al-Hafiz said of him in al-Taqrib, “maqbul,” i.e. acceptable when corroborated and not solitary. The hadith is further reported by Abu Dawud (2/142), al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah (2/192), al-Bayhaqi, and Ahmad (5/226–227) via other routes from Simak ibn Harb: “Qabisah ibn Hulb narrated to me from his father who said: I heard the Prophet say”—a man then asked, “There is some food I feel hesitant about;” whereupon he answered: “Do not let anything unsettle your heart whereby you would resemble the Christians.” This isnad is like the previous one, except that Qabisah ibn Hulb is also rated trustworthy by al-ʿIjli, and al-Tirmidhi commented, “This is a hasan hadith.” 1 That is, you would be imitating the followers of Christianity by refraining whenever someone merely supposes a food to be forbidden or disliked. Thus the wording gives the rationale: do not be scrupulous in that way, for if you do you will be copying the Christians—such excessive caution is part of their monastic practice. See Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi on the forthcoming hadith of Hulb, which corroborates the hadith of ʿAdi.