We were praying the evening prayer with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and whenever he prostrated, Hasan and Husayn would jump onto his back. When he raised his head, he would gently take hold of them from behind and place them on the ground. As soon as he prostrated again, they would climb back on, and this continued until he finished his prayer, when he sat them on his thighs.I then went up to him and said, "Messenger of Allah, shall I send them back?"Just then a flash of lightning struck, and he said to them, "Go back to your mother."Its light remained until they had reached her.
كنا نصلي مع رسول الله ﷺ العشاء، فإذا سجد وثب الحسن والحسين على ظهره، فإذا رفع رأسه أخذهما بيده من خلفه أخذا رفيقا فيضعهما على الأرض، فإذا عاد عادا، حتى قضى صلاته، أقعدهما على فخذيه. قال: فقمت إليه فقلت: يا رسول الله أردهما، فبرقت برقة فقال لهما: ألحقا بأمكما قال: فمكث ضوؤها حتى دخلا.
Imam Ahmad narrated it in his Musnad (10659) and in Fadail al-Sahabah (1401), and Tabarani in Kabir (3/45), and Bazzar in Kashf Astar (2630), all of them by way of Kamil Abu Ala, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurairah, who mentioned it in similar fashion, except that Bazzar mentioned it in an abridged form and did not mention the point relevant to the citation. Hakim also narrated it (3/167) by this route and said, "Sahih in isnad, but the two of them did not narrate it." I say, its isnad is hasan because of Kamil Abu Ala, for there is disagreement about him. Ibn Saad, Ibn Hibban, and Hakim declared him daif, while Nasai said, "There is no harm in him," and Ibn Main, Yaqub Fasawi, and others deemed him reliable. The conclusion is that his hadith is hasan.Haythami said in Majma (9/181), "Ahmad and Bazzar narrated it in abridged form, and the men of Ahmad are trustworthy," and he did not attribute it to Tabarani.This is not weakened by what Bazzar narrated in Kashf Astar (2629), and Ibn Jawzi in Ilal Mutanahiya (1/256), both by way of Musa bin Uthman Hadrami, from Amash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurairah, who said, "I was with the Prophet ﷺ on a dark night, and Hasan and Husayn were with him. Lightning flashed, and the Prophet ﷺ said, 'Catch up with your mother.'"Ibn Jawzi said, Daraqutni said, "Musa alone narrated it from Amash. Yahya bin Main said, 'Musa bin Uthman is nothing,' and Abu Hatim said, 'His hadith is discarded.'" End of quote.On this subject there is also what was related from Anas bin Malik, who said, "I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ praying, with Hasan on his back, and when he went into sujud he moved him off it." Ibn Adi narrated this in Kamil (1/362) from Yahya bin Muhammad Bakhtari, who said, Ubaydullah bin Muaz told us, my father told us, Ashath told us, from Hasan, from a man among the companions of the Prophet ﷺ, meaning Anas, who mentioned it. Hafiz graded its isnad hasan in Talkhis (1/45), but it contains Hasan Basri, who practices tadlis and narrated this with an ambiguous transmission formula.Likewise, what was related from Anas bin Malik is not sahih, that he said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would go into sujud, and Hasan and Husayn would come and climb onto his back, and he would prolong the sujud, so it was said, 'O Prophet of Allah, you have prolonged the sujud.' He said, 'My son was riding me, and I disliked to hurry him.'" Abu Yaala narrated this (3415, Athari edition) by way of Muhammad bin Zakwan, from Thabit, from Anas, who mentioned it in similar fashion.Haythami said in Majma (9/181), "It contains Muhammad bin Zakwan, whom Ibn Hibban deemed reliable while others declared him daif, and the rest of its men are the men of the Sahih." I say, Muhammad bin Zakwan is Basri Azdi, about whom Bukhari said, "His hadith is objectionable." Abu Hatim said, "His hadith is objectionable and daif." Nasai said, "He is not reliable, and his hadith is not to be recorded." Daraqutni also declared him daif. The conclusion is that he is "daif," as Hafiz said in Taqrib.