Azami 1092

Abu Yaala (6069) narrated it from Abu Kurayb, who said, Yunus bin Bukayr told us, Yahya bin Ayub told us, Abu Zura told us, Abu Hurairah told us, and he related the same account. Haythami mentioned it in Majma (2/292) and said, "Abu Yaala narrated it, and in one of his versions it reads, 'He will have with Allah a lofty rank.' Its narrators are trustworthy."I say, it is as he said, for Ibn Hibban narrated it in his Sahih (2908) from Muhammad bin Ala bin Kurayb (who is Abu Kurayb the Kufan, well known by his kunya), and Hakim (1/344) narrated it through the route of Ahmad bin Abdul-Jabbar, both of them from Yunus bin Bukayr with the same chain, giving the same account. Hakim said, "This is a hadith sahih in its chain of transmission, and the two of them (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it."But Dhahabi rejected this, saying, "Yahya and Ahmad are both daif, and Yunus is not a reliable authority."I say, this Yahya is Ibn Ayub bin Abu Zura Bajali. Abu Dawud and Bazzar deemed him trustworthy, and Ibn Main said, "There is no harm in him." A narrator of this standing has his hadith graded hasan and is not to be weakened, even though Ibn Main did weaken him in one report attributed to him. This is why Hafiz said of him, "There is no harm in him."As for Ahmad bin Abdul-Jabbar (who is Attaridi), although he is daif, Daraqutni said of him, "There is no harm in him." Moreover, as you have seen, he was not alone in narrating this.As for Yunus bin Bukayr (who is Shaybani), even though he is not a reliable authority, he does not fall below the rank of "truthful." Dhahabi himself said in Mizan, in his biographical entry, "He is one of the leading authorities in tradition and biography." He then said, "Muslim cited Yunus in the supporting evidences, not in the primary sources, and likewise Bukhari mentioned him as a supporting witness. His hadith is hasan."See the remaining hadiths on this topic in the book on funerals.