and al-Ḥākim said—though he does not have this last sentence, nor does al-Nasāʾī—: "The isnād is authentic"; and al-Dhahabī agreed with him, and al-Ḥāfiẓ confirmed it in "al-Fatḥ" (12/127)! Without it, al-Ḥāfiẓ also cited it in "al-Talkhīṣ" (4/58), saying: "It was narrated by Abū Dāwūd and its isnād is good." I say: And this is more likely; for it includes Hishām ibn Saʿd, who is: "truthful, but has mistakes," as al-Ḥāfiẓ said in "al-Taqrīb." However, there is a difference regarding the companionship of Nuʿaym ibn Huzāl. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr said in "al-Istīʿāb": "The people of Madīnah narrated from him the story of the stoning of (Māʿiz al-Aslamī), and it has been said: He had no companionship, but rather the companionship was for his father Huzāl, and this is more accurate." His statement: "the people of Madīnah" contradicts what is in "Tahdhīb al-Kamāl" and its branches, and "Tajrīd al-Dhahabī," and "Iṣābah al-ʿAsqalānī"; for they did not mention any narrator from him other than his son (Yazīd), and al-Ḥāfiẓ explicitly stated this in "al-Taqrīb" while affirming his companionship; he said: "A Companion, settled in Madīnah, has no narrator except his son Yazīd." I say: Perhaps the reason for the contradiction is the differing narrations about Nuʿaym ibn Huzāl, as will be mentioned. Secondly: al-Layth ibn Saʿd said: from Yaḥyá—who is Ibn Saʿīd al-Anṣārī—from Yazīd ibn Nuʿaym from his grandfather Huzāl: that he had ordered Māʿiz to go to the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) ... the ḥadīth in brief, and it includes the ḥadīth of the chapter. It was narrated by al-Nasāʾī (7278) and Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (23/126)