Ahmad 6922

Its chain of transmission is sahih. Sulayman Ahwal is Sulayman bin Abu Muslim, whose biography has already passed under number 6497. As for Thabit, freedman of Umar bin Abdul-Rahman, Husayni gave his biography in al-Ikmal, page 16, saying, "Thabit, freedman of Umar bin Abdul-Rahman, narrated from Abdullah bin Amr, and Sulayman Ahwal narrated from him, unknown!" Ibn Hajar followed him in al-Tajil, page 13, without further investigation! Yet he is given a biography in al-Tahdhib under the name Thabit bin Iyad al-Ahnaf al-Aaraj, and it is noted that he was the freedman of Abdul-Rahman bin Zayd bin Khattab. Bukhari also gave him a biography in al-Kabir, 1/2/160-161, and mentioned that he heard from Abu Hurairah, Ibn Umar, and Ibn Zubayr. Ibn Hibban gave him a biography in al-Thiqat twice on a single page, page 158, saying, "Thabit bin Ahnaf al-Aaraj, freedman of Abdul-Rahman bin Zayd bin Khattab al-Qurashi, a man of Madinah, who narrates from Abu Hurairah and Ibn Umar, and Amr bin Dinar narrated from him." Then at the bottom of the same page he said, "Thabit al-Aaraj, from the people of Madinah, from whom Malik bin Anas narrated, and it has been said that he is Thabit bin Iyad al-Ahnaf, from whom Ibn Jurayj narrated."This is indeed the same Thabit, freedman of Umar bin Abdul-Rahman, the narrator of this hadith. Sometimes he is attributed by clientship to Abdul-Rahman bin Zayd bin Khattab, and sometimes to his son Umar bin Abdul-Rahman, as often happens in such cases. Umar bin Abdul-Rahman is historically established among the sons of Abdul-Rahman bin Zayd bin Khattab. In Nasab Quraysh by Musab, page 363, page 14, among the sons of Abdul-Rahman bin Zayd, it states, "Among the children of Abdul-Rahman was Umar bin Abdul-Rahman, whose mother was Umm Umar bint Sufyan bin Abdullah bin Rabia from Thaqif." And in Jamharat al-Ansab by Ibn Hazm, page 132, page 17, among the children of Abdul-Rahman bin Zayd, it states, "Umar, whose mother was from Thaqif."Ibn Hajar himself did not hesitate to conclude that these two descriptions refer to a single person, and that Thabit, the narrator of this hadith, is Thabit bin Iyad. For in al-Tahdhib, in the biography of Thabit bin Iyad, he indicated that he narrated from Ibn Amr and that Sulayman Ahwal narrated from him. And in al-Fath he referred to this very hadith, stating that it comes through the narration of Thabit bin Iyad, as we shall mention in the takhrij, Allah willing. Given all this, it is astonishing that Husayni fell into error by listing this Thabit among the additional narrators beyond those of the six books, and that Ibn Hajar then followed him in claiming that he was unknown!Muslim narrated the hadith, 1:50-51, through the route of Abdul-Razzaq, one of Ahmad's two teachers here, from Ibn Jurayj, who said, Sulayman Ahwal informed me that Thabit, freedman of Umar bin Abdul-Rahman, informed him, and he mentioned it. He then narrated it through the route of Muhammad bin Bakr, the other teacher of Ahmad here, and through the route of Abu Asim, both from Ibn Jurayj, with this same chain, similarly.Ibn Hajar referred to it in al-Fath, 5:88, regarding Bukhari's marfu narration of this hadith, "Whoever is killed defending his property." He said, "Muslim also narrated it likewise, through the route of Thabit bin Iyad, from Abdullah bin Amr, and in his narration there is a story." He said, "When the dispute occurred between Abdullah bin Amr and Anbasah bin Abu Sufyan, both sides prepared for battle. Khalid bin Aas rode to Abdullah bin Amr and admonished him, so Abdullah bin Amr said, Do you not know..." and he mentioned the hadith.By this statement, Ibn Hajar decisively confirms that Thabit bin Iyad, freedman of Abdul-Rahman bin Zayd, whose biography appears in al-Tahdhib, is the same as Thabit, freedman of Umar bin Abdul-Rahman, the narrator of this hadith. Praise be to Allah for this success in clarification.Ibn Hajar referred to this hadith again in al-Isabah, 2:92-93, in the biography of Khalid bin Aas bin Hisham bin Mughira al-Makhzumi, who is the one mentioned in this hadith as having ridden to Abdullah bin Amr to admonish him. Ibn Hajar quoted it from Sahih Muslim. However, in al-Isabah the narrator's name appears mistakenly as Thabit, freedman of Umar bin Abdul-Aziz! This is most likely a printing error.As for the phrase in the hadith, "they prepared for battle," it means they got ready and made themselves prepared for it. In the printed copy of Fath al-Bari it appears as "he gestured toward fighting," which is also a printing error.See numbers 1522, 6913, and 7084.