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 (2689), Ahmad (19948), and Nasai in Amal al-Yawm wal-Layla (337), all of them from Muhammad bin Kathir, who said, Jafar bin Sulayman narrated to us, from Awf, that is Ibn Abu Jamila Arabi, from Abu Raja Attaradi, from Imran bin Husayn, and he 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 he is hasan al-hadith. Hafiz said in Fath al-Bari (6/11), "Its chain is strong."Something similar to it has been reported from Muaz bin Anas, but it adds at the end that another man then came and said, "Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings and His forgiveness." He said, "Forty," and said, "This is how excellence is achieved."Reported by Abu Dawud (5196) from Ishaq bin Suwayd Ramli, who said, Ibn Abu Maryam narrated to us, saying, "I think I heard Nafi bin Yazid say, Abu Marhum informed me, 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, about whom there is disagreement. Ibn Abu Khaythama reported from Ibn Main, "Daif al-hadith." 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 weakened it in Fath al-Bari.