I said: This mursal [ḥadīth] is also authentic and is not weakened by the connected [ḥadīth]; because it is narrated by a group of trustworthy narrators, and they include an addition; thus, it is accepted by consensus. The ḥadīth has supporting narrations, including: from Anas who said: The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) gathered his fingers and struck them on the ground, then said: "This is the son of Adam," and he gestured with his hand behind that, and said: "This is his lifespan," and he pointed in front of him, saying: "And there is his hope" (three times). It was recorded by Aḥmad (3/123 and 135) - and the context is his - and al-Tirmidhī, number (2334), and Ibn Mājah (4232), and Ibn Ḥibbān (2554) through the route of Ḥammād ibn Salamah from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr ibn Anas from Anas ibn Mālik... Al-Tirmidhī said: "A ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth." And I say: Ḥammād ibn Salamah - despite his great status - some have criticized his narration from other than Thābit, so the isnād is ḥasan, and his ḥadīth is authentic. Al-Mundhirī attributed it in "al-Targhīb" (4/132/22) to al-Nasāʾī as well, and al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Mundhirī followed him in "Tuhfat al-Ashrāf"; and he specified it by saying (1/286): "in al-Raqāʾiq (in al-Kubrā)." The book "al-Raqāʾiq" is not in his book "al-Sunan al-Ṣughrā" known as "al-Mujtabá," and therefore; the esteemed verifier ʿAbd al-Ṣamad Sharaf al-Dīn specified it as (in al-Kubrā), and this book: (al-Raqāʾiq) is not found in the printed version of "al-Sunan al-Kubrā," and I have come across other..