Muʿāwiyah wrote to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Shibl: Teach the people what you heard from the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam). He said: I heard the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) say ... and he mentioned it. He said: "Authentic according to the criteria of Muslim." Al-Dhahabī agreed with him. I said: This is how it is in the narration of Maʿmar, where he did not mention "Abū Rāshid al-Ḥibrānī." Likewise, it was narrated from him by Aḥmad (3/444), and Ibn ʿAsākir in "al-Tārīkh" (9/977) said: "It was narrated by Abān ibn Yazīd al-ʿAṭṭār in a summarized form from Yaḥyá ibn Abī Kathīr, and he added Abū Rāshid al-Ḥibrānī to its isnād." Then he traced its isnād with the ḥadīth before it from the route of Abū Yaʿlá, and it does not include the story of Muʿāwiyah: Then he said: "And similarly, it was narrated by Muʿāwiyah ibn Salām from his brother Zayd." Then he traced its isnād from the route of Muḥammad ibn Shuʿayb: Muʿāwiyah ibn Salām narrated to me from his brother from his grandfather from Abū Salām from Abū Rāshid who said: We were with Muʿāwiyah ... and he mentioned the ḥadīth in a summarized form. Then he narrated it from the route of al-Rabīʿ ibn Nāfiʿ: Muʿāwiyah ibn Salām narrated it to us in this manner.

(Indeed, when Allāh intends mercy for a nation from His servants, He takes their Prophet before them; thus making him a forerunner and a predecessor for them. And when He intends destruction for a nation, He punishes them while their Prophet is alive; so He destroys them while he watches, and He satisfies his eyes with their destruction when they deny him and disobey his command). It was recorded by Muslim (7/65) in a suspended form; he said: And it was narrated to me from Abū Usāmah—among those who narrated