I said: the conclusion is that the mention of the Ahl al-Bayt alongside the Quran in this ḥadīth is like the mention of the sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs alongside his sunnah (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) in his saying: "You must follow my sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs..." Shaykh al-Qārī said (1/199): "For they did not act except according to my sunnah, so the attribution to them is either due to their adherence to it, or their derivation and selection of it." If you understand what has been mentioned, then the ḥadīth is a strong witness for the ḥadīth in "al-Muwaṭṭaʾ" with the wording: "I have left among you two matters; you will not go astray as long as you hold onto them: the Book of Allāh and the sunnah of His Messenger." It is in "al-Mishkāt" (186). The aspect of this witness has been hidden from some of our young brothers today who have filled pages with the weakening of the ḥadīth of al-Muwaṭṭaʾ. And Allāh is the one whose help is sought.

- "The verses are like beads arranged on a string; if the string is cut, they follow one another." It was recorded by al-Ḥākim (4/473-474) and Aḥmad (2/219) through two chains from Khālid ibn al-Ḥuwayrith from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr who said: The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) said it, and he mentioned it. I said: "Its isnād is weak; Khālid ibn al-Ḥuwayrith is not well-known. Ibn Maʿīn said: 'I do not know him,' and Ibn Ḥibbān mentioned him among the trustworthy." However, the ḥadīth has a supporting narration from Anas ibn Mālik in a marfūʿ form except that he said: "The signs are like beads..." It was recorded by al-Ḥākim (4/546) and he said: "Authentic according to the conditions of Muslim." Al-Dhahabī agreed with him, and it is as they said.