Ibn Hibban writes in al-Thiqat that “he may have made mistakes,” while Ibn al-Qattan deems him “of unknown status.” Nor was he the only transmitter. Al-Khatib notes right afterwards: “Abu Marwan Yahya b. Abi Zakariyya al-Ghassani also related it from Hisham.” Al-Daraqutni adds: “Hafs b. Amr al-Habati likewise narrated it from Hisham.” Because Yahya b. Abi Zakariyya and Hafs b. Amr are both weak, reliance rests on Sufyan’s version. Al-Haythami cites this hadith of Aisha in Majmaʽ al-Zawaʾid (5:160–161) and comments: “Al-Tabarani reported it in al-Awsat through a shaykh of his named Ahmad; I do not know him, yet he appears trustworthy because al-Tabarani frequently narrates from him, and the remaining narrators are reliable.” A corroborating report is found in al-Tabarani’s al-Awsat (1/10/2/141 in my numbering) from Anas b. Malik: “One day we were with the Prophet when some Jews entered. Seeing that their beards were entirely white, he asked, ‘Why do you not dye them?’ They replied, ‘They dislike doing so.’ The Prophet said, ‘As for you, do change them, and keep away from black.’ ” Al-Haythami (5:160) remarks: “Its chain contains Ibn Lahiʽa, while the rest of the narrators are reliable; the hadith is therefore sound (hasan).” In sum, the hadith is authentic when these chains and supporting narrations are considered together. Shaykh al-Islam observes: “This wording—referring to the version cited in the text—more decisively commands us to differ from them and prohibits resembling them. If he forbade imitation merely in leaving the natural grey hair that is not our doing, then all the more must he forbid deliberately creating such resemblance; thus this form of imitation is unlawful, unlike the first.” Al-Manawi adds: “The hadith generally encourages opposing the Jews and Christians, for the decisive factor is the breadth of the wording.”