Chapter: That Which is Related to the Statements ‘The Chain of Narration is from the Religion’; ‘Transmissions are not Taken Except from Trustworthy Narrators’; and ‘Criticism of the Narrators With What is Permissible Regarding Them, Even Obligatory and That It is not the Prohibited Kind of Backbiting, Rather it is the Defense of the Noble Sharī’ah’

Hajjāj narrated to me, Sulaymān bin Harb narrated to us, he said, I heard Sallām bin Abī Mutī’ saying, it reached Ayyūb that I would go to Amr so he turned to me and said: ‘Have you seen a man whose Dīn you do not trust- how do you trust him regarding Ḥadīth?’ Salamah bin Shabīb narrated to me, al-Humaydī narrated to us, Sufyān narrated to us, he said I heard Abū Mūsā [Isrā’īl bin Mūsā al-Basrī] saying: ‘Amr bin Ubayd narrated to us before what happened’ [i.e. before he became Mu’tazilī]. Ubayd Allah bin Mu’ādh al-Anbarī narrated to me, my father narrated to us, he said: ‘I wrote to Shu’bah asking him about Abū Shaybah , a judge of Wāsit, so he wrote to me: ‘Do not write anything from him [of Ḥadīth] and tear up my letter [to you about this]’. Al-Hulwānī narrated to us, he said, I heard Affān [bin Muslim] say: ‘I narrated to Hammād bin Salamah [bin Dīnār al-Basrī], on authority of Sālih al-Murrī , a Ḥadīth on authority of Thābit [bin Aslam al-Banānī], then [Hammād] said: ‘[Sālih] lied’. I also narrated to Hammām on authority of Sālih al-Murrī a Ḥadīth then [Hammām] said: ‘[Sālih] lied’. Mahmūd bin Ghaylān narrated to us, Abū Dāwud narrated to us, he said, Shu’bah said to me: ‘Go to Jarīr bin Hāzim and say to him, ‘It is not allowed for you to transmit from al-Hasan bin Umārah for indeed he lies’.’ Abū Dāwud said, I said to Shu’bah: ‘And how do you know that?’ So [Shu’bah] said: ‘He narrated to us on authority of al-Hakam things that were not found to have any basis’. [Abū Dāwud] said: ‘What things?’ [Shu’bah] said, I said to al-Hakam: ‘Did the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, pray over the martyrs of Uhud?’ [al-Hakam] said: ‘He did not pray over them’. Al-Hasan bin Umārah said, on authority of al-Hakam, on authority of Miqsam, on authority of Ibn Abbās: ‘Indeed the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, prayed over them and buried them ’. I [Shu’bah] said to al-Hakam: ‘What do you say about the children born from fornication?’ [Al-Hakam] said: ‘Pray over them ’. I [Shu’bah] said: ‘From whose Ḥadīth is it transmitted?’ [Al-Hakam] said: ‘It is transmitted on authority of al-Hasan al-Basrī’.’ Al-Hasan bin Umārah said: ‘Al-Hakam narrated to us, on authority of Yahyā bin al-Jazzār, on authority of Alī.