until they reached him; and there were men from (Madhḥij). One of them approached him to pledge allegiance. When he took his hand, he said: "O Messenger of Allāh! What about the one who sees you, believes in you, confirms you, and follows you; what does he receive?" He said: "Glad tidings for him." He said: He withdrew his hand and left. Then the other came forward and took his hand to pledge allegiance. He said: "O Messenger of Allāh! What about the one who believes in you, confirms you, and follows you, but did not see you?" He said: ... and he mentioned the ḥadīth; he said: He withdrew his hand and left. I said: This isnād is good, its men are trustworthy, the men of the two Shaykhs; except that they did not rely on Ibn Isḥāq, for al-Bukhārī narrated from him in a suspended form, and Muslim in a supporting role, and he is good in ḥadīth when he explicitly states the narration, and he has done so. Al-Haythamī said (10/67): "It was narrated by Aḥmad, and its men are the men of the 'Ṣaḥīḥ'; except for Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, and he explicitly stated the hearing." I said: It would have been of complete benefit to explicitly state the goodness of its isnād, and he has done so in the following narration, which is excellent for what follows. The ḥadīth was also narrated by al-Bazzār (3/290-291/2769), and al-Ṭabarānī in "al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr" (22/389/742) through two other routes from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq from Yazīd ibn Abī Ḥabīb with it; except that he said about the man the same as he said about the first man in question and answer. Al-Haythamī said (10/18):