Ahmad 405

Its isnad is sahih. Abu Abdul-Rahman is Sulami, Abdullah bin Habib, a trustworthy successor. Bukhari narrated the hadith (9:66-68 of Fath) through the route of Sufyan, as here, with the wording "the best of you," and also narrated it through the route of Shubah, from Alqama bin Marthad, from Saad bin Ubayda, from Abu Abdul-Rahman Sulami, with the wording "the best among you." The Hafiz spoke at length in Fath al-Bari about Shubah's insertion of Saad bin Ubayda between Alqama and Abu Abdul-Rahman, and he said, the Hafiz gave preference to the narration of Thawri, and they counted Shubah's narration among the additions in connected chains. Then he said, as for Bukhari, he brought out both routes, so it seems he judged that both were preserved. Shubah's narration will come at 412 and 413, and it will also come at 500 from the narration of Sufyan and Shubah together, with the addition of Saad bin Ubayda in the isnad. Suyuti attributed the hadith in Jami Saghir 4111 to Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah, but he fell short in this, since he did not attribute it to Bukhari.