Ahmad 6501

Its isnad is sahih. Zayd bin Wahb Juhani, his reliability was established earlier at 698, and he was a tabii mukhadram, meaning he narrated from Umar and other senior companions. Here he narrates with a gap, from another tabii, from Abdullah bin Amr. Bukhari gave his biography in al-Kabir 2/1/272, and mentioned that he heard from Amr and Abdullah, and it was narrated from him that he said, "I set out traveling to the Prophet , but he passed away while I was on the road." Ibn Saad gave his biography in al-Tabaqat 6:69-70, and mentioned that he was present with Ali at his battles. Khatib gave his biography in Tarikh Baghdad 8:440-442.Abdul-Rahman bin Abd Rabb al-Kaaba al-Saidi is trustworthy. Ibn Hibban mentioned him among the trustworthy narrators, and Muslim included this hadith from him, as will follow.Al-Saidi, with the letters sad and dal both unpointed, is a relation to Said, a clan of Hamdan, as stated explicitly by Samani in al-Ansab and by Ibn Athir in al-Lubab, both giving this single reading. In al-Tahdhib and its offshoots it appears as al-Aidhi or al-Saidi, and there al-Aidhi is written with the pointed dhal. The vocalization given in al-Taqrib states al-Aidhi with the unpointed letter and eight (variants), and some say with the unpointed sad. I believe Ibn Hajar means by "the unpointed letter" the dal rather than the ayn, but the author of al-Khulasa said, "al-Aidhi with the pointed letter," making explicit that he means the dhal, and I think this claim of his is not well established.As for the author of al-Jamu bayna Rijal al-Sahihayn, he said, "al-Saidi or al-Aidi," writing both with the unpointed dal, and placing the disagreement between ayn and sad. Whatever the case, the preferred reading is al-Saidi, as stated explicitly in al-Ansab, and as it is confirmed in Sahih Muslim. I have not found any real basis for those who substitute ayn for sad, unless it occurred that way in some manuscript copies.I then found in Mashariq al-Anwar by Qadi Iyad, 2:85, an indication that this disagreement is an old one, and that it is between al-Saidi and al-Aidi. He said, "Abdul-Rahman bin Abd Rabb al-Kaaba al-Saidi, thus it appears in their copies with both sad and dal unpointed, and Said is a clan of Hamdan." Jayyani vocalized it the same way. Some said, "al-Aidhi," with the unpointed ayn and the pointed dhal and the letter of weakness, and Hakim attributed him to Azd, since Aidh is a branch of Azd.Nawawi said in Sharh Muslim 12:235, "Bukhari mentioned him in his Tarikh, and Samani in al-Ansab, and both said he is al-Saidi, mentioning nothing else." Thus Muslim, Bukhari, and Samani are all in agreement on al-Saidi.What appears clear from all this is that al-Saidi, with both sad and dal unpointed, is the more firmly established and preferred reading. And Allah knows best.This hadith is an abridgment of 6503 with this same isnad, and its sourcing and explanation will follow there, Allah willing.