and he was followed by Yaḥyá al-Ḥammānī— with the breaking of the neglected letter and the intensification of the mīm— from Sulaymān ibn Bilāl, and Abū ʿAwānah narrated it from the path of Bishr ibn ʿAmr from Sulaymān ibn Bilāl, saying: "sixty-something or seventy-something." Similarly, the uncertainty occurred in Muslim's narration from the path of Sahl ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ from ʿAbdullāh ibn Dīnār. The three authors of the Sunan narrated it from his path, saying: "seventy-something" without doubt, and for Abū ʿAwānah in his "Ṣaḥīḥ" from the path: "seventy-six or seventy-seven." Al-Bayhaqī preferred al-Bukhārī's narration because Sulaymān did not doubt. However, this is questionable due to what we mentioned from Bishr ibn ʿAmr's narration from him, as he also hesitated. But it is preferred because it is certain, and anything else is doubtful. As for al-Tirmidhī's narration with the wording: "sixty-four," it is defective, and assuming its authenticity, it does not contradict al-Bukhārī's narration, and preferring the narration of seventy-something because it is an addition by a trustworthy source, as mentioned by al-Ḥalīmī and then ʿIyāḍ, is not correct, as the one who added it did not remain certain about it, especially with the same source. This clarifies the insight of al-Bukhārī, and Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ preferred the lesser number because it is certain." I say: there is no doubt that taking the lesser number is certain when the narration is confused and it is impossible to prefer one aspect of the confusion, but this is not the case here in my critique because Muslim's narration from Sulaymān is preferred over al-Bukhārī's narration from him because it is from two paths, as previously indicated from Abū ʿĀmir from him. Contrary to the previous statement of the ḥāfiẓ: "the paths did not differ from Abū ʿĀmir..." And al-Ḥammānī's following of him does not benefit us in this matter because al-Ḥammānī is weak. So if Muslim's narration from Abū ʿĀmir is preferred, Sulaymān ibn Bilāl becomes a follower of Sahl ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ from the path of Sufyān and Ḥammād ibn Salamah from him with the wording "seventy-something," and with this following, this wording is preferred over other wordings, especially since most of them had narrators who hesitated and doubted, and if it is added that the addition of a trustworthy source is accepted, this preference of this wording is correct as mentioned by al-Ḥalīmī and then ʿIyāḍ, and the statement of the ḥāfiẓ: "as the one who added it did not remain certain about it" does not refute it because it suffices to say that certainty about it is preferred as we have explained. And Allāh knows best. As for the wording "sixty-four," it was narrated by al-Tirmidhī and Aḥmad (2/379) from the path of ʿUmārah ibn Ghaziyyah from Abū Ṣāliḥ with it