Azami 3998

Abu Dawud narrated it (1607) from Muhammad bin Yahya bin Faris, who said, Saeed bin Sulayman narrated to us, who said, Abbad narrated to us, from Sufyan bin Husayn, from Zuhri, from Abu Umama bin Sahl, from his father, and he related it. Ibn Khuzayma graded it sahih (2313) and narrated it through the route of Saeed bin Sulayman.I say, its isnad is hasan because of the corroboration of Sulayman bin Kathir for Sufyan bin Husayn, who is Abu Muhammad or Abu Hasan Wasiti, and he is trustworthy except when narrating from Zuhri. Perhaps Abu Dawud noticed this, for he mentioned this corroboration, saying, "Abu Walid also gave it a full chain, from Sulayman bin Kathir, from Zuhri." Ibn Abu Hatim connected it in his Tafsir (2802) from his father, from Abu Walid, with the same wording.Sulayman bin Kathir is Abdi Basri, there is no harm in him, but not when narrating from Zuhri, as Hafiz said in Taqrib. Their both narrating this hadith from Zuhri together suggests that neither of them erred in it.But this is complicated by what Nasai narrated (2494) and Ibn Khuzayma graded sahih (2312), both from the hadith of Abdul-Jalil bin Humayd Yahsubi, that Ibn Shihab told him, saying, Abu Umama bin Sahl bin Hunayf told me, regarding the verse in which Allah said, "And do not seek out the inferior of it to spend" [Baqarah 2:267], he said, "It is the jurur and lawn hubayq varieties, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade that inferior produce be taken as charity."Abdul-Jalil bin Humayd did not say "from his father," and Muhammad bin Abu Hafsa corroborated him on that. Ibn Khuzayma also narrated it through his route (2311).Abu Umama, whose name is Asad bin Sahl, was born during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ but did not have companionship with him, and whatever he narrated is mursal. He did narrate from a group of companions, among them his father Sahl bin Hunayf, so it is not far-fetched that he heard this hadith from his father. In that case both routes would be preserved, with Abu Umama sometimes giving it with a full chain from his father, and sometimes narrating it as mursal, so Zuhri would narrate it both ways. If that is the case, then the connected version should not be faulted because of the mursal one. And Allah knows best.