Azami 1557

Muslim narrated it in the Book of Purification (223), from Ishaq bin Mansur, who said, Habban bin Hilal narrated to us, who said, Aban narrated to us, who said, Yahya narrated to us, that Zayd told him, that Abu Salam told him, from Abu Malik Ashari, who said... then he narrated the hadith.I say, this is among the places where Daraqutni spoke in Tatabbu (number 34), where he found fault with this chain on account of a break between Abu Salam and Abu Malik Ashari, basing this on what Nasai (2437), Ibn Majah (280), and Ibn Hibban (844) narrated, all of them from the hadith of Muawiya bin Salam, from his brother Zayd bin Salam, from his grandfather Abu Salam, from Abdul-Rahman bin Ghanm, that Abu Malik Ashari told him, then he narrated the hadith. So Muawiya bin Salam inserted Abdul-Rahman bin Ghanm between Abu Salam and Abu Malik. Daraqutni held that a man's own family knows his narration better than others do, so Muawiya knows his brother's narration better than Yahya (that is, Ibn Abu Kathir), through whose route Muslim narrated.Among those who preferred the narration of Muawiya bin Salam is Nasai in Amal al-Yawm wal-Layla (168), for after transmitting it through the route of Yahya bin Abu Kathir, he said, Muawiya bin Salam contradicted him, narrating it from his brother Zayd, from Abu Salam, from Abdul-Rahman bin Ghanm, from Abu Malik, then he narrated the hadith in abridged form.Nawawi responded to this in his commentary on Muslim, saying, "The apparent situation with Muslim is that he knew Abu Salam had heard this hadith from Abu Malik, so Abu Salam heard it from Abu Malik, and also heard it from Abdul-Rahman bin Ghanm, from Abu Malik. So he narrated it once directly from him, and once from Abdul-Rahman. In any case, the text itself is sahih and there is no criticism to be made of it."Alai commented on this in Jami Tahsil (page 138), saying, "Some scholars preferred the statement of Daraqutni, on the grounds that Abu Malik Ashari died in the plague of Amwas in the year eighteen, and they have said regarding Abu Salam's narration from Ali, Huzaifa, and Abu Dharr that it is disconnected (mursal), so his narration from Abu Malik is even more likely to be disconnected."I say, if what Alai reported concerning the date of Abu Malik's death is correct, then there is no doubt that Muslim's narration is disconnected. This is built on the premise that Abu Malik Ashari is different from Harith bin Harith Ashari, who is also known by the kunya Abu Malik. As for Abu Malik, the teacher of Abdul-Rahman bin Ghanm, his name is disputed, some said Kaab bin Asim, some said Ubayd, some said Amr, some said Harith, and others said other names still.It has been established that Abu Salam heard from Harith bin Harith Ashari, whose death came later, but it has not been established that he heard from Abu Malik, who died in the plague of Amwas in the year eighteen, because Abu Salam was born after the death of Abu Malik Ashari. So take note of this, for in some narrations Abu Salam explicitly states that he narrated from Harith Ashari, as in the hadith, "Allah commanded Yahya bin Zakariya with five words, to act upon them and to order Banu Israil to act upon them..." the hadith in full is in the Book of Faith. Tirmidhi narrated it in the Book of Parables (2863), and Ibn Khuzayma (930), and Hakim (1/236), all of them through the route of Zayd bin Salam, that Abu Salam told him, that Harith Ashari told him, then he narrated the hadith.