al-Dhahabī mentioned him in "al-Mīzān" and said: "Unknown, as far as I know, only Mustalim ibn Saʿīd narrated from him, and he brought a rejected report from him about Anas, stating that the prophets are alive in their graves and they pray. This was narrated by al-Bayhaqī." However, al-Ḥāfiẓ critiqued this in "al-Lisān" and said afterwards: "He is only Ḥajjāj ibn Abī Ziyād al-Aswad, known as 'Zaqālaʿasal,' and he was from Basra, residing in al-Qasāmil. He narrated from Thābit, Jābir ibn Zayd, Abū Naḍrah, and a group. From him narrated Jarīr ibn Ḥāzim, Ḥammād ibn Salamah, Rūḥ ibn ʿUbādah, and others. Aḥmad said: Trustworthy, and a righteous man, and Ibn Maʿīn said: Trustworthy, and Abū Ḥātim said: His ḥadīth is sound, and Ibn Maʿīn said: Trustworthy, and Abū Ḥātim said: His ḥadīth is sound. Ibn Ḥibbān mentioned him in "al-Thiqāt" and said: "Ḥajjāj ibn Abī Ziyād al-Aswad from the people of Basra ... he is the one from whom Ḥammād ibn Salamah narrates, saying: Ḥajjāj ibn al-Aswad narrated to me." I say: It is concluded from this that this Ḥajjāj is trustworthy without dispute and that al-Dhahabī mistakenly thought he was someone else and did not recognize him, which is why he rejected his ḥadīth. It seems he recognized him later, as al-Ḥākim included another ḥadīth of his in "al-Mustadrak" (4/332), and al-Dhahabī said in "Talkhīṣ": "I say: Ḥajjāj is trustworthy." And perhaps for this reason, he did not include him in his book "al-Ḍuʿafāʾ" nor in its supplement. And Allāh knows best. In summary: the ḥadīth with this isnād is weak, and its defect is indeed from al-Ḥasan ibn Qutaybah al-Madāʾinī, but he was not alone in narrating it, contrary to what was previously mentioned by al-Bayhaqī. Abū Yaʿlá al-Mawṣilī said in "Musnad" (Q 168/1) Abū al-Jahm al-Azraq ibn ʿAlī narrated to us, Yaḥyá ibn Abī Bukayr narrated to us, Mustalim ibn Saʿīd narrated it