Ibn Zubayr used to provide us with dates as our ration. People at that time were suffering hardship, so we would eat, and Ibn Umar would pass by us while we were eating and say, "Do not eat dates two at a time, for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade pairing them."Hajjaj's version says, "He forbade pairing them unless one asks permission from his companion."Shuba commented, "I do not think this phrase about asking permission is anything other than Ibn Umar's own words."
حدثنا محمد بن جعفر وحجاج قالا حدثنا شعبة المعنى قال حجاج عن جبلة وقال ابن جعفر سمعت
كان ابن الزبير يرزقنا التمر قال وقد كان أصاب الناس يومئذ جهد فكنا نأكل فيمر علينا ابن عمر ونحن نأكل فيقول لا تقارنوا فإن رسول الله ﷺ نهى عن الإقران قال حجاج نهى عن القران إلا أن يستأذن الرجل أخاه وقال شعبة لا أرى هذه الكلمة في الاستئذان إلا من كلام ابن عمر
Its isnad is sahih. Jabala is the son of Suhaym. Tayalisi (1906) narrated the hadith similarly from Shuba, but he did not mention that Shuba considered the request for permission to be Ibn Umar's own statement, rather he presented the whole thing as a raised hadith, as will also come later (5063) through the narration of Yazid bin Harun from Shuba. It has also already passed in abbreviated form (4513) via the route of Abu Ishaq Shaybani from Jabala bin Suhaym, likewise presented entirely as a raised hadith. Bukhari (493:9-494) narrated it from Adam from Shuba, and in it he said, Shuba said, "The permission is Ibn Umar's own statement."Hafiz [Ibn Hajar] discussed at length in Fath al-Bari the narrations indicating that the whole hadith is raised, both from the hadith of Ibn Umar and from the hadith of Abu Hurairah, then he said, "What seems more likely to me is that there is no insertion in it. It does not necessarily follow, from the fact that Ibn Umar mentioned the permission once without raising it to the Prophet, that his basis for it was not something raised to the Prophet." This is the truth about which there is no doubt.As for qiran, with a kasrah on the qaf, and iqran, on the four-letter pattern, Ibn Athir said, "The first is more correct," meaning that one combines two dates together while eating. It was forbidden because it involves greed, which demeans the one who does it, or because it involves cheating one's companion. It has also been said that it was forbidden only because of the hardship of life and scarcity of food they were experiencing at that time. Despite this, they would share what little they had with one another, so that when they gathered to eat, each of them would prefer the others over himself. Among the people there might be one whose hunger was especially intense, and he might combine two dates together or take an oversized bite. So the Prophet guided them toward seeking permission in such a case, so that the hearts of the rest would remain at ease about it.