Azami 1868

Nasai (647) narrated it, he said, Suwayd bin Nasr informed us, Abdullah told us, from Sufyan, from Abu Jafar, from Abu Salman, from Abu Mahzura, who said, and then he mentioned the hadith. He also said, Amr bin Ali informed us, he said, Yahya and Abdul-Rahman told us, they said, Sufyan told us with this same chain, similarly. Abu Abdul-Rahman (Nasai) said, "And he is not Abu Jafar Farra." End of quote.In this chain is Abu Salman the muezzin, said to be named Hammam. The Hafiz said of him, "Maqbul." I say, this is correct, since he was corroborated as will follow. As for Nasai's statement that he is not Abu Jafar Farra, I say, Abdul-Rahman, that is, Ibn Mahdi, said the same thing, as narrated by Imam Ahmad (15378) who said, Abdul-Rahman told us, Sufyan told us, from Abu Jafar, Abdul-Rahman said, he is not Farra, from Abu Salman, from him, he said, "I used to give the call to prayer for the Fajr prayer in the time of the Prophet ﷺ. When I said, 'Come to success,' I would say, 'Prayer is better than sleep, prayer is better than sleep,' in the first call." Mizzi disputed this and said, "The sahih view is that he is Farra." If it is established that he is Farra, then he is trustworthy, for Abu Dawud and others declared him trustworthy. But if he is someone else, then he is unknown.Furthermore, Abu Salman has corroborating narrations. Among them is what Abdul-Razzaq (1779) narrated from Ibn Jurayj, who said, Uthman, their freedman, told me, from his father, the shaykh who was a freedman of Abu Mahzura, and from Umm Abdul-Malik bin Abu Mahzura, from Abu Mahzura, who then mentioned the story of his going out to Hunayn, in which the Prophet ﷺ said to him, "When you give the call for the first prayer of the morning, say, 'Prayer is better than sleep,'" twice. Via the route of Abdul-Razzaq, Abu Dawud (501) and Imam Ahmad (15376) narrated it from Ibn Jurayj, from Uthman bin Saaib, their freedman, from his father, a freedman of Abu Mahzura, and from Umm Abdul-Malik bin Abu Mahzura, that both of them heard it from Abu Mahzura, who then mentioned the hadith. Imam Ahmad related it in full, while Abu Dawud confined himself to mentioning, "Prayer is better than sleep, prayer is better than sleep," in the first call of the morning. However, the chain contains unknown narrators, Uthman, his father, and Umm Abdul-Malik are all unknown.Among them also is what Abu Dawud (500) and Ibn Hibban (1682) narrated, both from the hadith of Musaddad, Harith bin Ubayd told us, from Muhammad bin Abdul-Malik bin Abu Mahzura, from his father, from his grandfather, who said, "I said, Messenger of Allah, teach me the sunnah of the adhan." He said, so he wiped the front of my head and said, then he mentioned the adhan, in which it states, "If it is the Fajr prayer, then say, 'Prayer is better than sleep, prayer is better than sleep.'" Harith bin Ubayd, Abu Qudama, is truthful but makes mistakes.Among them also is what Daraqutni (1/238) narrated via the route of Umar bin Qays, from Abdul-Malik bin Abu Mahzura, from his father, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said, "O Abu Mahzura, repeat the first part of the adhan for every prayer, and in the first call of the dawn prayer say, 'Prayer is better than sleep.'" In this chain is Umar bin Qays Makki, whom Ibn Main, Abu Hatim, Daraqutni, and others declared daif. However, Abu Dawud (504) narrated it via the route of Ibrahim bin Ismail bin Abdul-Malik bin Abu Mahzura, who said, "I heard my grandfather Abdul-Malik bin Abu Mahzura relate that he heard Abu Mahzura say," then he mentioned the hadith, in which it states that he used to say for Fajr, "Prayer is better than sleep." Ibrahim bin Ismail bin Abdul-Malik was declared daif by Azdi, and the Hafiz said, "Unknown."Among them also is what Daraqutni also (1/237) narrated via the route of Abu Bakr bin Ayyash, Abdul-Aziz bin Rafi told us, he said, "I heard Abu Mahzura say, 'I was a young boy, and I gave the call to prayer in front of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for Fajr on the day of Hunayn. When I reached, "Come to prayer, come to success," the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Add to it, 'Prayer is better than sleep.'"'" Abu Bakr bin Ayyash is Ibn Salim Asadi Kufi, the Quran reciter, whom Ahmad, Ajli, and others declared trustworthy, except that when he grew old his memory declined, though his book remains sahih.