it was recorded by Aḥmad (3/3446), and its narrators are reliable except for the weakness of Ibn Lahīʿah. Al-Haythamī mentioned it in "al-Majmaʿ" (1/100) from Ibn ʿUmar with the four clauses, and said: "It was narrated by al-Ṭabarānī in 'al-Kabīr' in full, and al-Bazzār, and Aḥmad narrated from it: 'The adulterer does not commit adultery and the thief does not steal' only. In Aḥmad's chain is Ibn Lahīʿah, and in al-Ṭabarānī's chain is Muʿallá ibn Mahdī. Abū Ḥātim said: He sometimes narrates strange ḥadīth, and Ibn Ḥibbān mentioned him in (al-Thiqāt)." Then he mentioned two other supporting narrations from al-Ṭabarānī from the ḥadīth of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mughaffal and Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, so whoever wishes may refer to them. Know that the reason for extracting this ḥadīth, which is agreed upon as authentic by the imams of ḥadīth from the two Shaykhs and others, is that I saw Shaykh Zāhid al-Kawtharī, known for his intense hostility towards the people of the sunnah and ḥadīth, had commented on it in his marginal notes on the book "al-Tanbīh" in a way that suggests to the ordinary reader that it is a weak ḥadīth that cannot be used as evidence. Therefore, I found it necessary to undertake this extraction, which allows every reader to uncover the misleading nature of his commentary, by making them understand the truth contrary to what he suggests, in aspects that will be explained. He said in the aforementioned commentary (p. 154) after mentioning two other authentic ḥadīths, one of them being the ḥadīth of ʿUbādah mentioned earlier, and the other the ḥadīth of Abū Dharr mentioned under number (826): "Even if he steals and even if he commits adultery." He said: "As for the ḥadīth 'The adulterer does not commit adultery while he is a believer,' it is weaker in authenticity (!) than the two. Some scholars have even denied its authenticity altogether, as reported by Ibn Jarīr. In its chain is Yaḥyá ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Bukayr, whom Abū Ḥātim does not consider reliable, and al-Nasāʾī weakened him, but the majority accepted him and interpreted the ḥadīth due to its apparent contradiction with the Qurʾān, sunnah, and consensus - refer to Fatḥ al-Bārī (12-47)."