Bukhari 3992

Bukhari related it from Ishaq, from Jareer, from Yahya bin Saeed, from Muaz bin Rifa, from his father, and his father was one of the people of Badr, "How do you count among you those who were present at Badr?"And from Sulayman, from Hammad, from Yahya, from Muaz, as a mursal narration. And from Ishaq bin Mansur, from Yazid, from Yahya, who heard Muaz, as a mursal narration.He said, "No one gave it a full chain except Jareer, and Thawri differed from him, narrating it from Yahya, from Abaya, from Rafi."

Hafiz said in the introduction, page 369, third volume, after mentioning Daraqutni's statement, I say, Bukhari's wording indicates that Hammad's chain is connected, for he said, "Sulayman, meaning Ibn Harb, told us, Hammad, meaning Ibn Zayd, told us, from Yahya, that is Ibn Saeed, from Muaz bin Rifa bin Rafi." Rifa was one of the people of Badr, and Rafi was one of the people of Aqaba, and he used to say to his son, meaning to Rifa, "It would not please me more to have witnessed Badr than Aqaba." He said, "Jibreel asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family," and then he mentioned the hadith.Ibn Manda also narrated it in al-Marifah through the route of Umara bin Ghaziya, from Yahya bin Saeed, from Rifa bin Rafi, this is how it appears in his version, though it may be "from Ibn Rifa bin Rafi." He said, "I heard my father say, Jibreel said..." This strengthens Jareer's narration to some extent. And Allah knows best.

I say, the companion narrator of Thawri's hadith is different from the companion narrator of this chapter's hadith. The companion of Thawri's hadith is Rafi bin Khadij al-Ansari al-Awsi al-Harithi, while the companion of this chapter's hadith is Rifa bin Rafi al-Ansari al-Khazraji al-Zurqi, as stated in Isaba.The hadith of Rafi bin Khadij is found in the Musnad, volume 3, page 465, and in Sunan Ibn Majah, volume 1, page 56. Ibn Majah, may Allah have mercy on him, said, Ali bin Muhammad and Abu Kurayb told us, they said, Waki told us, Sufyan narrated to us from Yahya bin Saeed, from Abaya bin Rifa, from his grandfather Rafi bin Khadij, who said,"Jibreel, or an angel, came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, and said, 'How do you regard those among you who were present at Badr?' They said, 'They are our best.' He said, 'Likewise, they are the best of the angels with us.'"This is considered a corroborating witness for the hadith of Bukhari. And Allah