Bukhari 3689

Bukhari narrated on the authority of Yahya bin Qazaa and Awaysi, from Ibrahim bin Saad, from his father, from Abu Salama, from Abu Hurairah, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, "There were among the nations people who were spoken to." Bukhari said, Zakariya added, from Saad, from Abu Salama, from Abu Hurairah, "without being prophets."Sulayman Hashimi and Abu Marwan Uthmani corroborated this, but Ibn Wahb differed from them, narrating it from Ibrahim bin Saad, from his father, from Abu Salama, from Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her. Bukhari also narrated it through the hadith of Ibrahim bin Saad, from his father, from Abu Salama, from Abu Hurairah, through the hadith of Zakariya, from Saad, in a similar manner.The well known version, from Ibrahim, from his father, from Abu Salama, reads, "It has reached me that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family..." Ibn Hadi narrated it from Ibrahim, and a group corroborated him, among them the sons of Saad, and Yaqub, and Abu Salih, the scribe of Layth, and others.Muslim narrated this hadith of Ibn Wahb alone, without the others, from Ibrahim. Ibn Hadi, and Yaqub and Saad, the two sons of Ibrahim, and Abu Salih, the scribe of Layth, and others, narrated it from Ibrahim bin Saad, from his father, from Abu Salama, who said, "It has reached me that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family..."Zakariya narrated it from Saad, from Abu Salama, from Abu Hurairah. Bukhari included it as a suspended narration. Muhammad bin Ajlan narrated it from Saad, from Abu Salama, from Ayesha, and Muslim narrated it.Muslim narrated the hadith of Ibn Ajlan, from Saad, from Abu Salama, from Ayesha, "There were among the nations two who were spoken to, and if there is one in my nation, then it is..."And from Abu Tahir, from Ibn Wahb, from Ibrahim bin Saad, from his father, from Abu Salama, from Ayesha.

Al-Hafiz said in Fath al-Bari, volume 7, page 50, "As for his statement 'from Abu Hurairah,' this is how the companions of Ibrahim bin Saad bin Ibrahim bin Abdul-Rahman bin Awf reported it, from his father, from Abu Salama. Ibn Wahb differed from them, saying, from Ibrahim bin Saad with this same chain, from Abu Salama, from Ayesha."Abu Masud said, 'I do not know of anyone who followed Ibn Wahb in this. What is known from Ibrahim bin Saad is that it is from Abu Hurairah, not from Ayesha.' Zakariya bin Zaida followed him in narrating from Ibrahim bin Saad, as mentioned by the author here in a suspended form."Muhammad bin Ajlan said, from Saad bin Ibrahim, from Abu Salama, from Ayesha. This was reported by Muslim, Tirmidhi, and Nasai. Abu Masud said, 'This is well known from Ibn Ajlan, so it seems that Abu Salama heard it from both Ayesha and Abu Hurairah together.'"I (that is, Al-Hafiz) say, "It has a basis in the hadith of Ayesha, which Ibn Saad reported through the route of Ibn Abu Atiq, from her." End of quote.Nawawi mentioned Daraqutni's criticism of it and passed over it in silence.

The upshot is that Bukhari's narration is sahih, free of any doubt, and it is not weakened by being connected through irsal, since a connected chain is an addition, and when it comes from a trustworthy narrator it is accepted under the conditions mentioned earlier in the introduction. Yahya bin Qazaa, Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah Uwaysi, Sulayman Hashimi, and Abu Marwan Uthmani all transmitted it as connected, from Ibrahim, and Zakariya bin Abu Zaida corroborated Ibrahim.Likewise, Daraqutni raised no objection to Ibn Ajlan's narration. As for Ibn Wahb, he was corroborated, Ibn Hadi having corroborated him, as noted in Mushkil Athar, vol. 2, p. 257. It thus appears that the hadith is established through these three routes. And Allah knows best.