and with such blind trust, it is not permissible to say that the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) said to Salmā bint Mālik such and such!! Fifth: The report he mentioned and trusted is not authentic due to its isnād; rather, it is very weak. Al-Khaṭīb said after what we quoted from him earlier regarding this ḥadīth. "If we were to permit the transmission of weak reports, we would have transmitted another report in opposition to this one, which Yāqūt mentioned in "Muʿjam al-Buldān" (under the entry Ḥawʾab) from Sayf ibn ʿUmar al-Tamīmī that the dog of Ḥawʾab that barked was Umm Zamal Salmā... This report is weak, and the report they cited from ʿĀʾishah is weaker than it." Thus he said! (They mixed a good deed with another that was bad, perhaps Allāh will accept their repentance). Sixth: His statement: "to satisfy certain desires." It seems he is referring to the Shīʿah who harbor animosity towards Lady ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhā) and accuse her of immorality if not outright disbelief because of her participation in the Battle of the Camel. But who are those he referred to with his phrase "some people"? Is it Imām Aḥmad, who examined the isnād of the ḥadīth? Or al-Dhahabī, who authenticated it? Or is it Yaḥyá ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān, the teacher of Imām Aḥmad, who is among the reliable authorities, especially since six other trustworthy individuals corroborated him as mentioned earlier? Or is it Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, who is similar as you know, or his teacher Qays ibn Abī Ḥāzim, who is also reliable and precise, although it is said that he was critical of ʿAlī (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu). Therefore, he is among the supporters of ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhā), so it is inconceivable that he would narrate from her something baseless that would please those the author referred to! The ḥadīth has supporting evidence that strengthens it, which is from the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās who said: The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) said to his wives: