"Do not take the mosques as pathways except for remembrance or prayer." It was narrated by Ibn Abī Thābit in "His Ḥadīth" (1/126/1): Aḥmad ibn Bakr al-Bālisī narrated to us: Mūsá ibn Ayyūb narrated to us, he said: Yaḥyá ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us from ʿAlī ibn Ḥawshab from Abū Qabīl from Sālim from his father in a marfūʿ manner. It was also narrated by al-Ṭabarānī in "al-Kabīr" (3/194/2) and in "al-Awsaṭ" (20/2) from "Majmaʿ al-Baḥrayn" and by Ibn ʿAsākir in "Tārīkh Dimashq" (12/39/2) through another route from Yaḥyá ibn Ṣāliḥ al-Waḥāẓī with it. I say: This isnād is ḥasan. All its narrators are trustworthy, and there is slight criticism regarding Abū Qabīl—whose name is Yaḥyá ibn Hāniʾ—that does not lower his ḥadīth from the rank of ḥasan. For this reason, al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Mundhirī said in "al-Targhīb" (1/124): "Its isnād is acceptable." And similarly, al-Haythamī said (2/24): "Its narrators are reliable." It was also extracted by Ibn Mājah through another route from Ibn ʿUmar in his ḥadīth, but its isnād is weak as I clarified in "al-Ḍaʿīfah" (1497). It has a supporting narration from the ḥadīth of Ibn Masʿūd similar to it, which has already been mentioned under number (649).

"No, rather a servant and messenger." It was extracted by Ibn Ḥibbān (2137) and Aḥmad (2/231) from the route of Muḥammad ibn Faḍīl from ʿUmārah ibn al-Qaʿqāʿ from Abū Zurʿah from Abū Hurayrah who said: "Jibrīl sat with the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) and looked at the sky, and there was an angel descending. Jibrīl said to him: This angel has not descended since he was created until this hour. When he descended, he said: O Muḥammad, your Lord has sent me to you: Shall I make you a king or a servant and messenger? Jibrīl said to him: Be humble