The Shaykh’s return to discussing Imam Malik’s (may Allah have mercy on him) reports, including an example of an authentic, connected narration found outside the Muwatta.

The Shaykh : So, the majority of Malik’s reports are authentic, and the rest, which are four hadiths, and this is one of them, are not authentic. As for this hadith of ours, it is authentic; that is, this report is among those hadiths that were found with a chain and are authentic outside "Imam Malik’s Muwatta." This hadith says: This is an exaggeration, because if he is walking, he is wading in the mercy of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and when he sits with the sick person, the mercy increases around him, so he immerses himself in it. Thus, the hadith is authentic, not as a report by Malik, but as a narration by Imam Ahmad, who said of its narrators: they are the narrators of authentic hadiths, with a chain from Jabir. Among the interesting and witty points in the books of hadith is that some chains are narrated through the path of Imam Ahmad, from Imam al-Shafi'i, from Imam Malik; this narration is called the Golden Chain, because it is narrated from the Imams who are hadith scholars, jurists, and independent reasoners: Ahmad from al-Shafi'i, where al-Shafi'i is the Shaykh of Imam Ahmad and Ahmad is his student, and al-Shafi'i from Malik, where Malik is the Shaykh of al-Shafi'i and al-Shafi'i is his student. So it is a Golden Chain, each link holding the next by the neck. But this is rare in hadith; that is, hadiths narrated in this manner are scarce. And of course, this is not the case with this hadith, because it is disconnected as far as Malik is concerned. Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned a corroborating narration in this hadith to strengthen it, saying: "And al-Tabarani narrated it from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah in similar terms, and its narrators are trustworthy." The end of this chapter is his statement strengthening what preceded it from the hadith before it: "And from Ka'b ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Ahmad narrated it with a good chain, and al-Tabarani in al-Kabir and al-Awsat. After that, there is another narration in it that is weak. And this is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.