the Mighty and Majestic. He said: I said: Which jihad is best? He said: The one whose horse is wounded and whose blood is shed. He said: I said: Which hours are best? He said: The last part of the night...". I said: And this isnād is weak; Muḥammad ibn Dhakwān, who is al-Ṭāḥī, and Shahr are both weak, but most of the ḥadīth is established through other routes. Firstly: The last segment of it was recorded by Aḥmad (5/187) through the route of Abū Bakr ibn ʿAbd Allāh from Ḥabīb ibn ʿUbayd from ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah from the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) with a similar wording. Its narrators are trustworthy except for Abū Bakr, who is Ibn Abī Maryam, as he has poor memory. He also recorded it (5/111-113-114) and Ibn Mājah (1364) through the route of Yazīd ibn Ṭalq from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Baylamānī, from ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah who said: "I came to the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) and said: O Messenger of Allāh, who has submitted? He said: A free person and a slave. I said: Is there an hour closer to Allāh the Exalted than another? He said: The last part of the night." Ibn Mājah said "the middle of the night," which is anomalous. I said: And Ibn al-Baylamānī is weak and Ibn Ṭalq is unknown. However, there is another authentic route for this segment from ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah, and you can find the discussion on it in "Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd" (1198). Secondly: The segment "Which jihad is best?" was recorded by Aḥmad (4/114) through the route of Abū Qilābah from ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah who said: A man said, O Messenger of Allāh, what is Islam? He said: That your heart submits to Allāh and that the Muslims are safe from your tongue and your hand. He said: Which Islam is best? He said: Faith. He said: And what is faith? He said: To believe in Allāh, His angels, His books, His messengers, and resurrection after death. He said: Which faith is best? He said: Migration. He said: What is migration? He said: To abandon evil. He said: Which migration is best? He said: Jihad. He said: And what is jihad? He said: To fight the disbelievers when you encounter them
عز وجل، قال: قلت: أي الجهاد أفضل؟ قال: من عقر جواده واهريق دمه، قال: قلت: أي الساعات أفضل، قال: جوف الليل الآخر ... ". قلت: وهذا إسناد ضعيف محمد بن ذكوان وهو الطاحي وشهر ضعيفان لكن الحديث ثبت غالبه من طرق أخرى. أولا: الفقرة الأخيرة منه أخرجها أحمد (٥ / ١٨٧) من طريق أبي بكر بن عبد الله عن حبيب بن عبيد عن عمرو بن عبسة عن النبي ﷺ نحوه. ورجاله ثقات غير أبي بكر وهو ابن أبي مريم فإنه سيء الحفظ. وأخرج هو (٥ / ١١١ - ١١٣ - ١١٤) وابن ماجه (١٣٦٤) من طريق يزيد بن طلق عن عبد الرحمن البيلماني، عن عمرو بن عبسة قال: " أتيت رسول الله ﷺ قلت: يا رسول الله من أسلم؟ قال: حر وعبد. قال: فقلت: وهل من ساعة أقرب إلى الله تعالى من أخرى؟ قال: جوف الليل الآخر " وقال ابن ماجه " الليل الأوسط " وهو شاذ. قلت: وابن البيلماني ضعيف وابن طلق مجهول. لكن لهذه الفقرة طريق أخرى صحيحة عن عمرو بن عبسة تجد الكلام عليها في " صحيح أبي داود " (١١٩٨). ثانيا: فقرة " أي الجهاد أفضل؟ "، فقد أخرج أحمد (٤ / ١١٤) من طريق أبي قلابة عن عمرو بن عبسة قال: قال رجل يا رسول الله ما الإسلام؟ قال: أن يسلم قلبك لله ﷿ وأن يسلم المسلمون من لسانك ويدك قال: فأي الإسلام أفضل؟ قال: الإيمان قال: وما الإيمان؟ قال: تؤمن بالله وملائكته وكتبه ورسله والبعث بعد الموت قال: فأي الإيمان أفضل؟ قال الهجرة قال: فما الهجرة؟ قال: أن تهجر السوء. قال: فأي الهجرة أفضل؟ قال: الجهاد. قال: وما الجهاد؟ قال: أن تقاتل الكفار إذا لقيتهم.