Ahmad 7553

Its isnad is sahih. Its meaning has already appeared in the narration of Asim bin Kulayb, from his father, from Abu Hurairah, within hadith 7168, but with the wording, "Whoever sees me in a dream has indeed seen me," whereas what is established here in the three original manuscripts is "he has indeed seen the truth." In Jami al-Masanid wal-Sunan by Hafiz Ibn Kathir, quoting from this very passage of the Musnad, with this isnad, it reads "he has seen me" instead of "he has seen the truth." But this hadith will come again through this same route at 9484, from Abu Muawiya, from Muhammad bin Amr, from Abu Salama, from Abu Hurairah, with the wording "he has indeed seen the truth." Hafiz Ibn Kathir also mentioned this narration in its place in Jami al-Masanid, but there with the wording "he has indeed seen the truth." From this I have judged as more likely correct what is found in the three original manuscripts here, and that what Ibn Kathir quoted regarding this particular passage is either an oversight on his part, may Allah have mercy on him, or an error committed by the copyists.This hadith was also narrated from Abu Hurairah by Ibn Sirin and Abu Salih, both with the wording "he has indeed seen me," like the narration of Asim bin Kulayb from his father, from Abu Hurairah. The narration of Ibn Sirin will come at 9313 and 10113, and the narration of Abu Salih at 9305, 9967, and 10057. Likewise, Bukhari narrated it at 10:478-479 from the narration of Abu Salih, and Muslim narrated it at 2:201 from the narration of Ibn Sirin.As for Abu Salama bin Abdul-Rahman, who is its narrator from Abu Hurairah here, the narration from him has varied. Muhammad bin Amr narrated it from him here and at 9484 with the wording "he has indeed seen the truth," or "he has indeed truly seen me." Zuhri narrated it from him with a different wording. Muslim narrated it at 2:201 via Yunus from Zuhri, "Abu Salama bin Abdul-Rahman told me that Abu Hurairah said, 'I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, "Whoever sees me in a dream will see me while awake," or "it is as if he saw me while awake, for Shaytan cannot take my form."'" He [meaning Zuhri] then said, "Abu Salama said, 'Abu Qatada said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'Whoever sees me has indeed seen the truth.'"'" Muslim then narrated right after this, from the narration of Zuhri's nephew, "Our uncle told us," and he mentioned both hadiths together, with their isnads being identical, just like the hadith of Yunus.This narration, the narration of Zuhri from Abu Salama, was not narrated by Ahmad in the Musnad within the Musnad of Abu Hurairah, but rather he narrated it in the Musnad of Abu Qatada, [5:306], via the route of Zuhri's nephew, from Zuhri, from Abu Salama, from the hadith of Abu Hurairah and from the hadith of Abu Qatada, with the same wording as Muslim, except that in the hadith of Abu Qatada he said, "he has indeed seen the truth."Bukhari split this into two separate hadiths in two places. He narrated at 12:338 via the route of Yunus, from Zuhri, from Abu Salama, from Abu Hurairah, with the wording "he will see me while awake," without mentioning the alternative, doubtful wording, "or it is as if he saw me while awake." Then he narrated at 12:344 via the route of Zubaydi, from Zuhri, who said, "Abu Salama said, 'Abu Qatada said, "The Prophet ﷺ said, 'Whoever sees me has indeed seen the truth.'"'" Then Bukhari said, "Yunus and Zuhri's nephew corroborated him." This is a reference by him to the two narrations of Ahmad and Muslim via the route of Zuhri's nephew, and the narration of Muslim via the route of Yunus.Hafiz added, in Fath al-Bari, regarding the sourcing of these two corroborations, "Abu Yaala narrated it in his Musnad, from Abu Khaythama, Muslim's teacher in this hadith, with the wording, 'Whoever sees me in a dream has indeed seen the truth.'" Ismaili said, "Shuayb bin Abu Hamza also corroborated them, from Zuhri." I say, the speaker being Ibn Hajar, "Dhuhli connected it in Zuhriyyat." Hafiz did not point out, in connecting this corroboration, the narration of Ahmad in the Musnad of Abu Qatada.So the narration of Zuhri from Abu Salama indicates that the wording "he has indeed seen the truth," in its various forms, belongs only to the hadith of Abu Qatada, and not to the hadith of Abu Hurairah. Zuhri has a better memory and is more reliable than a hundred men like Muhammad bin Amr, even though Muhammad bin Amr's truthfulness is not to be denied. Supporting the preference for the narration of Zuhri are the narrations of Ibn Sirin, Abu Salih, and Kulayb bin Shihab Jarmi, which we referred to earlier. What appears most likely to me is that Muhammad bin Amr heard both hadiths from Abu Salama, the hadith of Abu Hurairah and the hadith of Abu Qatada, and so he narrated the hadith of Abu Hurairah with the wording of the hadith of Abu Qatada, either by way of narrating according to the sense rather than the exact wording, or something similar to that, or he simply erred, and the wording of one hadith became mixed into the other because their meanings were so close. Allah grants success to what is correct.