So, ‘Ali said to him, “Let me go out with you.

So, ‘Ali said to him, “Let me go out with you.” Therefore, the Prophet of Allah, peace be upon him, said, “Do not weep, ‘Ali. Are you not pleased that you are to me of the status of Harun to Musa, with the exception that you are not a prophet? Verily, it is not right that I depart except with you as my khalifah .”[^6] Al-Arnaut strangely says: إسناده ضعيف بهذه السياقة . أبو بلج أعدل ما قيل فيه أنه يقبل حديثه فيما لاينفرد به. Its chain is dha’if with this context.

Abu Balj , the fairest that has been said about him is that his hadith is accepted only when he is corroborated. ^7 However, he contradicts himself elsewhere: حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا عفان ثنا أبو عوانة ثنا أبو بلج عن محمد بن حاطب.... إسناده حسن من أجل أبي بلج ‘Abd Allah – my father (Ahmad b. Hanbal) – ‘Affan – Abu ‘Awanah – Abu Balj – Muhammad b. Hatib ....

Its chain is hasan due to Abu Balj .[^8] Al-Arnaut also states: حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا حسن حدثنا زهير حدثنا أبو بلج ان عمرو بن ميمون حدثه قال قال أبو هريرة ....هذا إسناد حسن ‘Abd Allah – my father (Ahmad b. Hanbal) – Hasan – Zuhayr – Abu Balj – ‘Amr b. Maymun – Abu Hurayrah .... This chain is hasan .[^9] Apparently, Hadith al-Khilafah is hasan by the standards of Shaykh al-Arnaut too! Commenting about the same hadith in Musnad Ahmad , ‘Allamah Ahmad Shakir (d.

1377 H) declares: إسناده صحيح، أبو بلج، بفتح الباء وسكون اللام و آخره جيم: اسمه يحيى بن سليم ويقال يحيى بن أبي الأسود الفزاري، وهو ثقة، وثقه ابن معين وابن سعد والنسائي والدارقطني وغيرهم. وفي التهذيب أن البخاري قال: فيه نظر! وما أدري أين قال هذا؟، فإنه ترجمه في الكبير 4/2/279 ـ 280 ولم يذكر فيه جرحاً، ولم يترجمه في الصغير، ولا ذكره هو والنسائي في الضعفاء، وقد روى عنه شعبة، وهو لا يروي إلا عن ثقه. Its chain is sahih . Abu Balj: his name is Yahya b. Sulaym. He is also called Yahya b.

Abi al-Aswad al-Fazari, and he is thiqah (trustworthy) . Ibn Ma’in, Ibn Sa’d, al-Nasai, al-Daraqutni and others declared him thiqah . It is said in al-Tahdhib that al-Bukhari said: “There is a problem in him”! I do not know: where has he said that ?

This is because in his (al-Bukhari’s) biography of him in al-Kabir 4/2/279-280, he does not mention any criticism against him, and he (al-Bukhari) does not write his biography in al-Saghir , and neither he nor al-Nasai has mentioned him in (his respective) al-Dhu’afa . Moreover, Shu’bah has narrated from him, and he does not narrate except from thiqah narrators.[^10] Imam al-Hakim (d.

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