Ahmad 5874

Its isnad is sahih. Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Abu Shayba, whose kunya was Abu Bakr, has already had his reliability established at 1059. He was a contemporary of Imam Ahmad, a great hafiz. Abu Ubayd Qasim bin Salam said, "Knowledge came to rest with four men. Abu Bakr [meaning this Ibn Abu Shayba] had the most extensive memorization of it, Ahmad [meaning Ibn Hanbal] had the deepest understanding of it, Yahya [meaning Ibn Main] had the most comprehensive knowledge of it, and Ali [meaning Ibn Madini] was the most knowledgeable about it."Hafs bin Ghiyath was one of Ahmad's teachers, but here Ahmad related from him through an intermediary. This hadith has already appeared through the route of Imran bin Judair from Yazid bin Attarid from Ibn Umar at 4601, 4765, and 4833, and we noted in the commentary on 4601 that Tirmidhi related it through the route of Ubaydullah from Nafi. This is that route of Ubaydullah.The statement of Abdullah bin Ahmad, "And I myself heard it from Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Abu Shayba," was not mentioned in [manuscript] H, and we have added it from [manuscripts] K and M.