Ahmad 7726

Its isnad is sahih. Dawud bin Qays al-Farra al-Dabbagh, his reliability was already established at 3732, and in addition to this, Ibn Abu Hatim gave his biography at 1/2/422–423. The hadith is in Jami al-Masanid 7:784. Muslim narrated it, 2:21, from Qanabi, from Dawud bin Qays, with the same wording. Its meaning has already appeared through two other routes from Abu Hurairah, at 7334 and 7505.His saying "mashfufa" is with two fas, as is confirmed here in the three original manuscripts and in Jami al-Masanid, and in manuscript M the correction mark is written above it.In Muslim's wording it appears as "mashfuwha," with a ha instead of the second fa. Ibn Athir explained it, saying, "Al-mashfuh means scarce, and its origin is water that so many lips have drunk from that it has become scarce." It is also said that he meant, "if it is crowded upon," meaning that many people eat from it.In my view, the reading in the Musnad, "mashfufa," is better and more precise in meaning, and further from forced interpretation, than deriving it from their saying "shafahu al-hamm," meaning that worry emaciated him and wasted him away until he grew thin. This is related to their saying, "the garment became thin [shaffa]," said when it becomes so thin that it shows the skin of its wearer, and "al-shufuf" is the emaciation of the body caused by worry and grief. It is also related to their saying, "the water diminished [shaffa], shaffan]," and "ishtafahu," meaning he drank it all up. And "al-shufafah" is the remainder of water or milk left in a vessel. All of this is from Lisan [al-Arab], and it is clear, needing no forced interpretation or further explanation, and it fits well with what follows immediately after it, "little."