if the ḥadīth has been preserved and not prompted, it is authentic, despite the disagreement regarding al-Awzāʿī's hearing from Nāfiʿ. However, it seems to me that it is a ḥasan ḥadīth, as it has been established that among the signs of the Hour are people who will emerge and take the Quran as musical instruments. Its verification has been previously mentioned under number (979). Aḥmad and others narrated from ʿUthmān ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ in a marfūʿ ḥadīth: "... the Dajjāl will emerge among the people." Its isnād is weak. It has a corroborating narration from the ḥadīth of Shahr ibn Ḥawshab from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr in marfūʿ form with the wording: "People will emerge from the east, reciting the Quran, it will not go beyond..." the ḥadīth. It was recorded by al-Ḥākim (4/486-487) and al-Ṭayālisī in "Musnad" (2293) and Aḥmad (2/198-199 and 209) through the route of Qatādah from him. Abū Janāb Yaḥyá ibn Abī Ḥayyah differed from Shahr ibn Ḥawshab: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar... and he mentioned it similarly. It was recorded by Aḥmad (2/84) in "Musnad ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb." The correct narration is that of Qatādah because Abū Janāb is weak due to his frequent tadlīs, as mentioned in "al-Taqrīb." Shahr is acceptable in corroborating narrations, and some consider his ḥadīth to be ḥasan, and perhaps for this reason, al-Ḥākim and al-Dhahabī remained silent about him. His statement: (ʿArāḍihim): is the plural of ʿarḍ with an open and still vowel, meaning a great army, and it is borrowed from ʿarḍ meaning the side of a mountain, or meaning a cloud that covers the horizon. This was stated by al-Sindī.