I said this; while I am aware of his knowledge, virtue, and stature, the words of the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) hold greater significance for me than any person after him. So be a man who recognizes people by the truth, not one who recognizes the truth by people. And Allāh is the one whose help is sought. *

"Change the appearance of the Jews, and do not change with black." It was recorded by al-Ṭabarī in "Tahdhīb al-Āthār" (493/926 - the missing part): Yūnus narrated to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Lahīʿah informed me from Khālid ibn Abī ʿImrān from Saʿd ibn Isḥāq ibn Kaʿb ibn ʿUjrah that he heard Anas ibn Mālik reporting, saying: Jews entered upon the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) and he asked about them. They said: Jews, O Messenger of Allāh! And they do not dye their hair. He said: ... and mentioned it. I said: And this isnād is authentic; its men are trustworthy, the men of Muslim, except for Ibn Lahīʿah and Saʿd ibn Isḥāq, and they are both trustworthy. Ibn Lahīʿah—whose name is ʿAbd Allāh—is only avoided in his narrations that are not from the ʿAbādilah narrating from him—mostly—because they narrated from him before his books were burned, as has been noted repeatedly. Ibn Wahb—who is ʿAbd Allāh al-Miṣrī—is among them, and this is an important benefit from the benefits of al-Ṭabarī's book, may Allāh have mercy on him, and thus I hastened to extract it. It was also recorded by al-Ṭabarānī in "al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ" (1/127/142 - printed) through the route of Yaḥyá ibn Bukayr, who said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Lahīʿah narrated it to me similarly. I had attributed it to him, quoting from the photographed copy in my book "Jilbāb al-Marʾah al-Muslimah" (p. 191) as evidence for the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah on change. And now, with this strong corroboration from Ibn Wahb for Yaḥyá ibn Bukayr, the ḥadīth has been authenticated, and all praise is due to Allāh. And it has another route from Anas; its extraction was previously mentioned under number (496), with some supporting evidence below it. *