He said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ led one of the afternoon prayers." Abu Hurairah mentioned which one it was, but Muhammad forgot. He prayed two rakahs and then gave the salam. He went to a piece of wood placed across the mosque and leaned his hand on it as though he were angry. Those in a hurry rushed out through the doors of the mosque, saying, "The prayer has been shortened."Among the people were Abu Bakr and Umar, but they were too in awe of him to speak to him. Also among the people was a man with long arms called Dhul Yadayn. He said, "Messenger of Allah, did you forget, or has the prayer been shortened?"He replied, "I have not forgotten, and the prayer has not been shortened."He asked, "Is it as Dhul Yadayn says?"They said, "Yes."So he came forward and prayed what he had omitted, then gave the salam, then said the takbir and prostrated like his usual prostration or longer, then raised his head and said the takbir.Muhammad used to be asked, "Then did he give the salam?" and he would say, "I have been informed that Imran bin Husayn said, 'Then he gave the salam.'"
حدثنا محمد بن أبي عدي عن ابن عون عن محمد
قال صلى رسول الله ﷺ إحدى صلاتي العشي قال ذكرها أبو هريرة ونسيها محمد فصلى ركعتين ثم سلم وأتى خشبة معروضة في المسجد فقال بيده عليها كأنه غضبان وخرجت السرعان من أبواب المسجد قالوا قصرت الصلاة قال وفي القوم أبو بكر وعمر فهاباه أن يكلماه وفي القوم رجل في يديه طول يسمى ذا اليدين فقال يا رسول الله أنسيت أم قصرت الصلاة فقال لم أنس ولم تقصر الصلاة قال كما يقول ذو اليدين قالوا نعم فجاء فصلى الذي ترك ثم سلم ثم كبر فسجد مثل سجوده أو أطول ثم رفع رأسه وكبر قال فكان محمد يسأل ثم سلم فيقول نبئت أن عمران بن حصين قال ثم سلم
Its isnad is sahih. Muhammad bin Abu Adi is Muhammad bin Ibrahim, his father's name being Ibrahim and his kunya being Abu Adi, as stated definitively by Ibn Saad in Tabaqat 46/2/7, and by Ibn Abu Hatim in Jarh wa Tadil 186/2/3. His reliability was established earlier at 591, and we add here that Bukhari gave his biography in Kabir 23/2/1, and Ibn Saad said, "He was reliable (thiqa), and he died in Basra in the year 194, during the caliphate of Muhammad bin Harun." Ibn Awn is Abdullah ibn Awn bin Artaban, whose reliability was established earlier at 1826, and we add here that Ibn Saad gave his biography in Tabaqat 24/2/7–30, and Ibn Abu Hatim in Jarh wa Tadil 2/2/130–131. Muhammad is Ibn Sirin.The hadith was narrated by Bukhari 469:1, by way of Ibn Shumayl from Ibn Awn, with this isnad. Muslim narrated it 1:160, by way of Sufyan bin Uyayna, and by way of Hammad, both from Ayub from Ibn Sirin, and Malik narrated it in Muwatta p. 93 from Ayub. Bukhari narrated it at 78, by way of Malik, except that Malik's version did not mention Ibn Sirin's statement at the end, "The confirmed report is that Imran bin Husayn said, 'Then he gave the salutation.'" The compilers of the six books narrated it through many different chains, in full and abridged form, see Bukhari 3:79–81, 10:390, Muslim 1:160, Abu Dawud 1008–1016/1:385–389 in Awn al-Mabud, Tirmidhi 1:307, Nasai 1:181–183, and Ibn Majah 1:189–190.Muhammad bin Sirin's statement at the end of the hadith appears to be disconnected, because of his wording, "The confirmed report is from Imran bin Husayn." However, it has come connected through his own chain. Abu Dawud narrated it 1039/1:401–402 in Awn al-Mabud, and Tirmidhi 1:304–305, and Nasai 1:183, and Hakim with two chains 1:233, and Bayhaqi 2:354–355, all of them by way of Ashath bin Abdul-Malik Hamrani from Muhammad bin Sirin from Khalid Haddan from Abu Qilaba from Abu Muhallab from Imran bin Husayn.Tirmidhi said, "This is a hasan gharib sahih hadith." Hakim said, "This is a sahih hadith meeting the criteria of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), though they did not include it," and Dhahabi agreed with him. Tirmidhi also said, "Muhammad bin Sirin narrated from Abu Muhallab, who is the paternal uncle of Abu Qilaba, other reports besides this hadith, and Muhammad narrated this hadith from Khalid Haddan from Abu Qilaba from Abu Muhallab." Tirmidhi means by this to point out that Ibn Sirin descended a level in his isnad for this particular hadith. That is, he narrates from Abu Muhallab directly elsewhere, but here he narrated from him through two intermediaries.Hafiz attributed this observation in Fath al-Bari 3:79 to Ibn Hibban, quoting him as saying, "Ibn Sirin narrated nothing from Khalid other than this hadith." Hafiz said, "This is an instance of senior narrators reporting from junior ones." He also said, at 1:469, "It reached us with a higher chain in the Juz of Dhuhali." Thus it becomes clear that Ibn Sirin left three narrators unnamed, and that his narration from Khalid is an instance of senior narrators reporting from junior ones.The hadith of Imran bin Husayn will come later in his musnad, 4:427, 440–441 h, but not through the route of Ibn Sirin. A reference to this hadith of Abu Hurairah has already been made within the musnad of Abdullah bin Umar, where Imam Ahmad narrated it there at 4951 from Hammad bin Usama from Hisham bin Hassan and Ibn Awn, both from Ibn Sirin, though he did not give its wording in full. We noted there that we did not find it in the Musnad narrated by Hisham bin Hassan from Ibn Sirin except in that one place. This is worth noting as useful information. See also what came earlier in the musnad of Ibn Masud, 4076, 4170, 4431.Regarding his statement, "one of the two afternoon prayers," Ibn Athir said, "He means either the Dhuhr or the Asr prayer, because the time from midday until Maghrib is called ashiyy (afternoon/evening)." It is also said that ashiyy extends from the sun's zenith until morning.Regarding "sur'an," with fatha on the sin and the ra, it means the first of the people, those who hasten to something and rush toward it quickly. The ra may also be given sukun. So said Ibn Athir.Regarding his statement, "the prayer was shortened," Nawawi said in his commentary on Muslim 5:68, "With damma on the qaf and kasra on the sad," and it is also transmitted with fatha on the qaf and damma on the sad, meaning in the passive voice, and in the active voice, and both are sahih, though the first is more well known and more correct. It is recorded in the manuscript of Bukhari with both readings, and Qastallani mentioned at 1:376 that the passive reading is attributed originally to Hafiz Munziri. Hafiz also favored this in Fath al-Bari 3:80.Dhul-Yadayn is Sulami. Hafiz said in Isaba 2:179, "It is said that he is Kharbaq, and Ibn Hibban distinguished between the two." This story will come later through his own narration in the Musnad, 16776, 16777. See the discussion and legal analysis of this hadith in Sharh Umda 1:249–260.The word "salutation" at the end of the hadith was dropped from manuscript h, and this is an obvious printing error, which we have corrected from manuscripts k and m.