b- that al-Mizzī himself did not mention in "al-Tahdhīb" Ibn Masʿūd among the teachers of Ibn Abī Mulaykah, nor did he mention Ibn Abī Mulaykah among the students of Ibn Masʿūd. c- that al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar did not include this narration in his book "Ittiḥāf al-Maharah...", and among his conditions was the book "Musnad Abī ʿAwānah" (1); which is extracted from "Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim", and the section containing this ḥadīth from "Abī ʿAwānah" has not been printed. d- that I did not see this narration in this form in any other source that I researched; despite the many who have transmitted the ḥadīth of Ibn Masʿūd, as you see. e- it occurred to me that there might be an omission in the isnād, and that the usual path is the narration of Abū al-Aḥwaṣ from Ibn Masʿūd, narrated by Ibn Abī Mulaykah! But they did not mention Abū al-Aḥwaṣ among the teachers of Ibn Abī Mulaykah! Nor did they mention Ibn Abī Mulaykah among the students of Abū al-Aḥwaṣ!! So it is possible that the more likely scenario is the following. And indeed, I saw al-Bukhārī in "Ṣaḥīḥ" (3658) had reported it from: 4- the ḥadīth of ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr: narrated by Ibn Abī Mulaykah, who is among his students; as in "Tahdhīb al-Kamāl" (15/256), and "Tuhfat al-Ashrāf" (4/232) - and he mentioned the ḥadīth therein. And it is narrated from Ibn Abī Mulaykah from Ibn al-Zubayr explicitly by two: 1- Ayyūb: in al-Bukhārī