A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "Peace be upon you." The Prophet returned the greeting, and the man sat down.The Prophet ﷺ said, "Ten."Then another man came and said, "Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah." The Prophet returned the greeting, and the man sat down.The Prophet said, "Twenty."Then another came and said, "Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings." The Prophet returned the greeting, and the man sat down.The Prophet said, "Thirty."
جاء رجل إلى النبي ﷺ فقال: السلام عليكم. فرد عليه، ثم جلس. فقال النبي ﷺ: عشر ثم جاء آخر فقال: السلام عليكم ورحمة الله. فرد عليه، فجلس فقال: عشرون ثم جاء آخر فقال: السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته. فرد عليه، فجلس فقال: ثلاثون.
Reported by Abu Dawud (5195), Tirmidhi (2884), Ahmad (19948), and Nasai in Amal al-Yawm wal-Layla (337), all of them from Muhammad bin Kathir, who said, we were told by Jafar bin Sulayman, from Awf, that is Ibn Abu Jamila Arabi, from Abu Raja Attaradi, from Imran bin Husayn, who then related it. Tirmidhi said, "Hasan gharib." And it is as he said, for its chain is hasan on account of Jafar bin Sulayman, who is Dubai Basri, since his hadith is hasan. Hafiz said in Fath al-Bari (6/11), "Its chain is strong."Something similar has been narrated from Muaz bin Anas, but with an addition at the end, then another man came and said, "Peace, and the mercy of Allah, and His blessings, and His forgiveness be upon you." He said, "Forty," and he said, "This is how virtues come to be." This was reported by Abu Dawud (5196) from Ishaq bin Suwayd Ramli, who said, we were told by Ibn Abu Maryam, who said, "I think I heard Nafi bin Yazid say, I was told by Abu Marhum, from Sahl bin Muaz bin Anas, from his father," and he related it.Its chain is daif, containing Abu Marhum, who is Abdul-Rahim bin Maymun Madani Maafiri, concerning whom there is disagreement. Ibn Abu Khaythama reported from Ibn Main, "His hadith is daif." Abu Hatim said, "His hadith is written down but not relied upon." Nasai said, "I hope there is no harm in him." No one else corroborated his wording "and His forgiveness," and Hafiz also declared it daif in Fath al-Bari.