a time passed and another came, and when death approached him, he said: O my sons! What kind of father have I been to you? They said: The best father. He said: Will you obey me? They said: Yes. He said: Look, when I die, burn me until you leave me as ashes, the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) said: and they did so. Then crush me with a pestle—he gestured with his hand—the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) said: and they did—by Allāh!—that. Then scatter me in the sea on a windy day; perhaps I may elude Allāh. The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) said: and they did—by Allāh!—that, and then he was in the grasp of Allāh, who said: O son of Adam! What drove you to do what you did? He said: O Lord! Your fear. He said: So Allāh forgave him for it. It was recorded by Aḥmad (4/447 and 5/3); and al-Ṭabarānī in "al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr" (19/427/1073). I say: This isnād is authentic; all its men are trustworthy. And I say: The fact that Ḥammād ibn Salamah narrated this ḥadīth with three isnāds from three Companions indicates that he was one of the great preservers; as it also indicates that the ḥadīth was well-known among the Companions. This is further confirmed by the fact that it was narrated from Abū Hurayrah through other paths, and from other Companions. As for the paths from Abū Hurayrah: 1- It was narrated by Abū al-Zinād from al-Aʿraj from him in a similar elevated form. It was recorded by Mālik (1/238), and through his path: al-Bukhārī (7506), Muslim (8/97), al-Khaṭīb in "al-Tārīkh" (4/389), and Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr in "al-Tamhīd" (18/38), all of them from Mālik with it. The additions and the path are for Muslim