Talq said, "Set out with us to Sham to Abdul-Malik, for we are forty men from the Ansar going so that he may assign us our stipends."On the way back, when we were at Fajj an-Naqah, he led us in the noon prayer with two units, then gave the closing salam and entered his tent. The people, however, stood up to add two more units to his two.He said, "May Allah disfigure those faces. By Allah, they have neither followed the Sunnah nor accepted the dispensation. I bear witness that I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, 'There will be people who go to extremes in religion, passing through it as an arrow passes through its target.'"
انطلق بنا إلى الشام إلى عبد الملك، ونحن أربعون رجلا من الأنصار ليفرض لنا. رجع وكنا بفج الناقة صلى بنا الظهر ركعتين، ثم سلم، ودخل فسطاطه، وقام القوم يضيفون إلى ركعتيه ركعتين أخريين. قال: فقال: قبح الله الوجوه، فوالله ما أصابت السنة، ولا قبلت الرخصة، فأشهد لسمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقول: إن أقواما يتعمقون في الدين، يمرقون كما يمرق السهم من الرمية.
Imam Ahmad narrated it (12615) from Husayn bin Muhammad, who said, "Khalaf narrated to us, from Hafs, from Anas," and he related it. Its chain is hasan because of Khalaf, who is Ibn Khalifa bin Said. Ibn Saad and Ajli deemed him trustworthy, while Ibn Main and Nasai said, "There is no harm in him," and Abu Hatim said, "Truthful." I say, someone like him has his hadith graded hasan, and he is among the narrators of Muslim.As for Hafs, he is the nephew of Anas bin Malik, and his father's name was Umar. Bukhari named him "Abdullah" and gave him an entry in Tarikh al-Kabir (2/360), saying, "Hafs bin Abdullah bin Abu Talha, the nephew of Anas al-Ansari, from whom Khalaf bin Khalifa heard."Nadr bin Muhammad narrated from Ikrima bin Ammar, who said, "Hafs bin Umar bin Abu Talha narrated to me, 'I accompanied Anas bin Malik to Syria, and he saw a group of people performing a voluntary prayer while traveling...'" So Bukhari was uncertain about the name of his father, but his entry under the name Hafs bin Abdullah suggests he favored the view that his father's name was "Abdullah." Hafiz Haythami in Tahdhib favored the view that his name was "Umar," and Allah knows best what is correct.He is truthful. Daraqutni deemed him trustworthy, and Abu Hatim said, "His hadith is sound." Ibn Hibban also mentioned him among the trustworthy narrators.The portion of this hadith attributed directly to the Prophet was reported by Bazzar and others, and it will be mentioned in its appropriate place.A note of caution, in Majma (2941), the phrase "Khalaf, from Hafs" was corrupted into "Khalaf bin Hafs," so Hafiz Haythami said, "Ahmad narrated it, and I could not find anyone who gave a biography of Khalaf bin Hafs." Perhaps this is how it appeared in the copy of Ahmad's work that he had.