Azami 3639

Daraqutni related it in his Sunan (2/76), and from him Hakim in al-Mustadrak (1/386), from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Saeed, from Abu Shayba Ibrahim bin Abdullah bin Abu Shayba, from Khalid bin Mukhlad, from Sulayman bin Bilal, from Amr bin Abu Amr, from Ikrima, from Ibn Abbas, and he related it.Hakim said, "It is sahih according to the criteria of Bukhari, though the two of them did not include it, and it contains a refutation of a hadith disputed regarding Muhammad bin Amr, with several chains of transmission, 'Whoever washes a deceased person should perform ghusl.'" End quote.Dhahabi criticized him for saying "it contains a refutation of the hadith 'Whoever washes a deceased person should perform ghusl,'" saying, rather we act upon both, so ghusl is recommended. End quote.I say, its chain is hasan due to the discussion surrounding Amr bin Abu Amr, the freedman of Muttalib, for he is disputed, though his hadith is hasan, and this is what Dhahabi himself concluded in Mizan after presenting the statements of the scholars concerning him.But Bayhaqi said (1/306), after relating the hadith from Hakim via the same route, "This is daif, and the fault lies with Abu Shayba, as I think."Ibn Mulaqqin pointed this out in Badr Munir (4/659), saying, "This Abu Shayba is Ibrahim bin Abdullah bin Abu Shayba, who is trustworthy as mentioned before, while the one criticized as unreliable is Abu Shayba Ibrahim bin Uthman al-Kufi, the judge of Wasit, so take note of that." End quote.Ibn Hajar said, commenting on Bayhaqi's statement, "I say, Abu Shayba is Ibrahim bin Abu Bakr bin Abu Shayba, whom Nasai relied upon and whom people considered trustworthy, and those above him in the chain were relied upon by Bukhari. Abu Abbas al-Hamdani is Ibn Uqda, a great hadith master. They only criticized him because of his doctrinal position and for other reasons, and never weakened him with regard to the wording of hadiths at all. So the chain is hasan, and this can be reconciled with the command found in the hadith of Abu Hurairah by holding that the command indicates mere recommendation, or that what is meant by ghusl here is washing the hands, as is made explicit in this hadith.I say, what supports the view that the command here indicates recommendation is what Khatib related in the biography of Muhammad bin Abdullah al-Makhrami, via the route of Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Hanbal, who said, my father said to me, "Have you written down the hadith of Ubaydullah, from Nafi, from Ibn Umar, 'We used to wash the deceased, and some of us would perform ghusl while some of us would not'?" I said, "No." He said, "There is a young man over there called Muhammad bin Abdullah who narrates it from Abu Hisham al-Makhzumi, from Wahib, so write it down from him." I say, this chain is sahih, and it is the best way of reconciling the differing versions of these hadiths, and Allah knows best." End of Ibn Hajar's statement from Talkhis Habir (1/138).