as for the ḥadīth narrated by (Khaṭṭ) from Jābir, it is authentic, and its isnād is good, but its text differs somewhat from this, and therefore I saw fit to single it out for citation, which follows.

- "Abū Bakr and ʿUmar in this religion are like the position of hearing and sight from the head." It was recorded by al-Ṭabarānī and al-Khaṭīb in "Tārīkh Baghdād" (8/459-460) through the route of ʿAbdullāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAqīl from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh who said: The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) said: and he mentioned it. I say: This isnād is good, all its men are trustworthy, and there is some criticism of Ibn ʿAqīl regarding his memory, but it does not lower his ḥadīth from the level we mentioned. It was also recorded by Ibn Shāhīn in "Faḍāʾil al-ʿAsharah al-Mubashshirīn bi-al-Jannah" from his "al-Sunnah" (no. 70 - my copy) through two routes from al-Ḥakam ibn Marwān who narrated to us from Furāt ibn al-Sāʾib from Maymūn ibn Mihrān from Ibn ʿUmar. "that the Prophet ﷺ intended to send a man on an important mission, and Abū Bakr was on his right and ʿUmar on his left, so ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib said to him: Why not send one of these two? He said..." and he mentioned it. But this Furāt is abandoned, so he is not to be used as evidence. There are two other supporting narrations from ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ and Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān, both recorded by al-Haythamī in "Majmaʿ al-Zāʾid" (9/52-53).