Ahmad 7749

Its chain of transmission is sahih. Its meaning has already appeared in brief at 2302, through the narration of Abu Zinad from Araj, from Abu Hurairah. Its meaning will also come in brief at 10354, through the narration of Ayub from Ibn Sirin, with the wording, "If he is fasting, let him pray," meaning supplication. Tirmidhi likewise narrated it in 2:66 by way of Ayub.It will also come at length at 10593, from Yazid, from Hisham, from Muhammad, that is Ibn Sirin, with the wording, "When one of you is invited, let him accept, and if he is fasting let him pray, and if he is not fasting let him eat." Muslim narrated it with this wording in 1:407 by way of Hafs bin Ghiyath from Hisham. Abu Dawud likewise narrated it in 2610 by way of Abu Khalid from Hisham, adding at the end, "Hisham said, prayer here means supplication."I have not found, in any of the narrations other than this place in the Musnad, the phrase "and let him pray for them" attributed to the raised hadith itself. I am concerned, given the indications of these circumstances, that this phrase has been inserted here into the hadith, and that it originally was Hisham bin Hassan's explanation of the meaning of the command to pray in this context.A reference to this hadith has already been made at 4951, in the course of the Musnad of Abdullah bin Umar, where a hadith of similar meaning is recorded from Ibn Umar. Imam Ahmad pointed to it there, through his narration from Hammad bin Usama, from Hisham and Ibn Awn, both of them from Ibn Sirin. We mentioned there that I had not found it in the Musnad through the narration of Ibn Awn, but that it is inferred from that passage. This, then, is the occasion where that inference is put to use.