Azami 358

Abu Dawud (1649) narrated it from Ahmad bin Hanbal, who said, Ubayda bin Humayd Taymi related to us, Abu Zaraa related to me, from Abu Ahwas, from his father Malik bin Nadla, and he mentioned it. Imam Ahmad (15890) narrated it through this same route. Its chain of transmission is sahih, and Abu Ahwas is Awf bin Malik bin Nadla. Ibn Khuzayma (2440), Ibn Hibban (3362), and Hakim (1/408) all graded it sahih, all of them through the route of Ubayda bin Humayd Taymi with his chain, in similar wording. Hakim said, "This hadith has a sahih chain of transmission."As for what was narrated from Abdullah bin Masud as a saying of the Prophet, "Hands are of three kinds, the hand of Allah is the highest, the hand of the giver is next, and the hand of the asker is the lowest," this is daif. Imam Ahmad (4261) narrated it from Qasim bin Malik, who said, Hijri informed us, from Abu Ahwas, from Abdullah, and he mentioned it. Hijri is Ibrahim bin Muslim Abdi, whom most scholars of knowledge judged daif. Hafiz said in Taqrib, "Weak in hadith, he raised statements that were actually stopped narrations to the level of the Prophet's own words."I say, this is indeed what he did, for he narrated it both as a saying of the Prophet and as a stopped narration. Qasim bin Malik raised it to the Prophet from him as mentioned here, and likewise Jareer and Shuba raised it from him to the Prophet. Through their route, Ibn Khuzayma narrated it in his Sahih (2435) and in Tawhid (105), and Hakim (1/408) narrated it through the route of Shuba alone. Jafar bin Awn narrated it from him as a stopped narration, as Bayhaqi said in Asma wal-Sifat (700). It appears that this goes back to Ibrahim Hijri, along with his inconsistency in the chain of transmission as mentioned before.As for what Haythami said in Majma (3/97), "Ahmad and Abu Yaala narrated it, and its narrators are all deemed trustworthy," this is not as he said, for Ibrahim bin Muslim Hijri was not deemed trustworthy by anyone, not even Ibn Hibban, who did not mention him in Thiqat but rather included him in Majruhin (7). Perhaps he relied on Ibn Khuzayma's grading of it as sahih. Allah, the Exalted, knows best.