Statements about the "most" authentic chain of transmission shouldn't be taken as absolut
Imam an-Nawawi says in his "at-Taqreeb" التقريب والتيسير لمعرفة سنن البشير النذير (here including as-Suyuti's commentary called "Tadreeb ar-Rawy" تدريب الراوي as a footnote):
Here and in the following I'll be translating from Arabic language, as these translations are mainly of my own take them carefully!
والمختار أنه لا يجزم في إسناد أنه أصح الأسانيد مطلقا.
And the chosen view is that it is not certain for any chain of narrators that it is the most correct chain of transmission at all
Imam as-Suyuti explained this by some examples among them was that the choice of what is the most correct chain is mainly rather subjective and he gave an example of an event reported by a-Darimi where somebody asked Waki' about different narrator chains of the hadith of 'Aishah () wanting to know which one is the most correct by him and Waki' told him that in his opinion only narrators from his region or location could reach a high level of trust, so he would set them higher than anybody else.
And therefore ibn Salah says it is better to say the chain "a -> b->...->z" is "among the most authentic chains of transmission" instead of saying it is "the most authentic chain of transmission". This is what we could call the statement on which later hadith scholars agreed.
Some thoughts about the golden chain
If you asked what exactly would make a hadith transmitter chain "golden"?
My answer would be:
- The chain must be connected (each of the narrators met his teacher/student and their knowledge exchange is well known) and
- Student and teacher have spent a fair enough time together (years in best case) to report a high amount of his teachers hadith.
- All narrators have a good reputation and level of trust.
- All narrators are also well known for their excellence in at least parts of the hadith sciences like having a good memory, correctness and accuracy of the transmission, having spread a lot of hadith, having a good knowledge of the hadith transmitters. So they must not be the "best" but at least good at any of these levels of knowledge.
- All the narrators must also be known as good in other sciences of the religion like qur'an, fiqh, Arabic grammar and being known for their worship.
If we take the golden chain of al-Bukahri into account we'd say:
Ibn 'Umar() was a young sahabi who was known to follow the sunnah of the prophet () (he was said to have prayed in a place just because he observed the prophet() doing this). Further he is counted among the sahaba who have transmitted a huge amount of knowledge/hadith and as one of the four sahabah named 'Abdullah who were regarded as fuqaha. So all the above criteria apply here.
As for Nafi'i, he was the companion of ibn 'Umar for a long beside ibn 'Umars son Saalim he is the most known narrator of his teacher and the one who spread the most of ibn 'Umar's knowledge in fiqh and hadith.
As for Malik his hadith is in all (sunni) hadith compilations, in all of the six known books the ahadith of al-Muwatta' are covered to a high amount beside ahadith which are not related to fiqh topics that he transmitted. Malik started his al-Muwatta' picking from 100.000 narrations reducing it at first to ~ 10.000 till it reached ~2.000 of which ~700 are ahadith attributed to the prophet(). According to some of his statements he had memorized 10.000 of the ahadith of ibn Shihaab, he is one of the earliest people known as amir al-Mu'miniyn fil hadith. The amount of ahadith which a-Shafi'i reported from Malik from Nafi'i from ibn 'Umar at least reaches 100 as shown in this article.
This chain is called golden because each of the narrators had all the above qualities and certainly many more!
Compared to this the hadith of abu Hanifa from abu Zubayr from Jabir may not cover all the above qualities, even if each of these narrators are nobel and well known scholars. Abu Hanifa is not known for his teaching of hadith he mainly used ahadith in his debates, that's why many hadith scholars reject accepting this as a hadith transmission, so for them a transmission from Malik to abu Hanifa or vice versa is not secured! Also if we check reports of these debates the wording of abu Hanifa in them is often not accurate compared to reports or narrations compiled elsewhere. The few secured ahadith of abu Hanifa appear in his students books such as the Muwatta' version of Muhammad ibn al-Hassan a-Shaybani. Were beside Malik's narration he mentioned other reports (not exclusively of abu Hanifa) either to confirm or show the difference between Malik's view and his view. Nevertheless abu Hanifa knew the knowledge of ibn Masu'd () better than most other people of his time. Therefore, if my opinion -as a layman- mattered, I would suggest the following chain of transmission as of a high value:
Abu Hanifa أبو حنيفة النعمان -> Hammad ibn abu Sulayman حماد بن أبي سليمان -> Ibraheem an-Nakha'i إبراهيم بن يزيد النخعي -> ibn Ma'sud عبد الله بن مسعود
The sahabi at the end of this chain could also be 'Umar ibn al-Khattab or 'Ali but I couldn't find many reports that can be regarded as hadith with these chains in Muhammad ibn al-Hassan's al-Muwatta' since most of them are used to show differences of opinion between the sahabah who lived in al-Hijaz and those of 'Iraq.
Some scholarly choices / "golden chains"
Among these scholarly choices imam an-Nawawi quoted the following in his book (comments, additions, explanations are based of as-Suyuti's commentary mentioned above -which is mentioned in the same link- and some own research or gathered knowledge) (Source):
- Ibn Shihaab az-Zuhri -> Salim ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar -> Ibn 'Umar
وقيل: أصحها الزهري عن سالم عن أبيه،
And it was said: (ibn Shihaab) az-Zuhri corrected it on the authority of Salim (ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar) on the authority of his father
This was the view of imam Ahmad and Ishaaq ibn Rahawayh as stated by ibn Salaah.
- Ibn Sirin -> Ubaidah as-Salmani -> 'Ali ibn abi Talib.
وقيل: ابن سيرين عن عبيدة عن علي،
And it was said: Ibn Sirin on the authority of Ubaidah ('Ubaidah ibn 'Amr as-Salmani died 64 a.H.) on the authority of Ali
This view was held by ibn al-Madini, 'Amr ibn al-Fallas عمرو بن علي الفلاس (a hafidh from Basra) and Sulayman ibn Harb. However the first and last differed in the narrator of ibn Sirin, while Sulayman preferred Ayyub as-Sakhtiyani أيوب السختياني, ibn al-Madini preferred 'Abdullah ibn 'Awn عبد الله بن عون (a hafidh from Basra), as-Suyuti reported this on the authority of ibn Salah as well.
- Sulayman al-'Amash -> Ibraheem ibn Yazid an-Nakha'i -> 'Alqamah ibn Qais -> 'Abdullah ibn Masood.
وقيل: الأعمش عن إبراهيم عن علقمة عن ابن مسعود،
And it was said: (Sulayman) Al-A’mash on the authority of Ibrahim (ibn Yazid an-Nakha'i) on the authority of Alqamah (ibn Qais) on the authority of Ibn Masoud
According to ibn Salah this was the view held by Yahya ibn Ma'iyn.
- Ibn Shihaab az-Zuhri -> 'Ali Zayn al-'Abideen -> al-Hussayn ibn 'Ali -> 'Ali ibn abi Talib.
وقيل الزهري عن علي بن الحسين عن أبيه عن علي،
And it was said az-Zuhri on the authority of Ali (Zayn al-'Abideen) ibn al-Hussein on the authority of his father on the authority of Ali
Ibn Salah reported this view from abu Bakr ibn abi Shaybah and al-'Iraqi reported it from 'Abd ar-Razaq.
- (a-Shafi'i ->) Malik ibn Anas -> Nafi' -> ibn 'Umar
وقيل مالك عن نافع عن ابن عمر، فعلى هذا قيل: الشافعي عن مالك عن نافع عن ابن عمر.
And it was said on the authority of Malik on the authority of Nafi' on the authority of ibn 'Umar, so according to this it was said: A-Shafi’i on the authority of Malik on the authority of Nafi' on the authority of ibn 'Umar.
The golden chain of imam al-Bukhari: Malik from Nafi' from ibn 'Umar.
Al-'Iraqi after holding the position that he holds back about an absolute statement about the most authentic chain introduced the chains I'm actually listing as the first. As-Suyuti commented this saying that this chain is something that "the souls tend to and the hearts are attracted to".
As Suyuti reported from al-Khatib al-Baghdadi's al-Kifaya the following:
عن يحيى بن بكر أنه قال لأبي زرعة الرازي: يا أبا زرعة، ليس ذا زعزعة، عن زوبعة، إنما ترفع الستر فتنظر إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم والصحابة حديث مالك عن نافع عن ابن عمر
On the authority of Yahya ibn Bakr that he said to Abu Zura'a ar-Razi: O Abu Zura'a, this can't be disturbed even by a strong wind, but you lift the curtain (in some sources it is said the thing in others the sunan see for example here) and you'll look at the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, and the companions. Malik’s hadith on the authority of Nafi’ on the authority of Ibn Omar
This means this chain of transmission is very strong (almost) nothing can weaken it. It is as if you've heard it without any intermediate directly from its source!
This is why according ibn Salah, abu Mansur at-Tamimi أبو منصور عبد القاهر بن طاهر التميمي said the chain of transmission with the highest state is: a-Shafi'i from Malik from Nafi'i from ibn 'Umar. He took as an evidence the consensus of scholars of hadith that none, but a-Shafi'i was the narrator from Malik with the highest status or esteem. And some later scholars added to this chain the imam Ahmad, since he was the narrator of a-Shafi'i with the highest status.
A bit off-topic, but good to know information!
Imam as-Suyuti added a useful information saying that nevertheless there's only one narration in imam Ahmad's al-Musnad going through this chain which in fact is includes four ahadith which were narrated by al-Bukhari as devided narrations and Muslim reported it excluding the transaction called habal al-Habla which he reported via al-Laith elsewhere (see here), as-Suyuti added this hadith with a full chain of narration between himself and the prophet () (see here). He also added that he couldn't find such a hadith anywhere else not even apart from al-Musnad.
See here the 4 parts of the hadith in al-Muwatta' which imam Ahmad merged into one narration from a-Shafi'i via Malik from Nafi'i from ibn 'Umar:
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Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not let any of you bid against each other.",
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Malik said, from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade najsh.,
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Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade the transaction called habal alhabala. It was a transaction which the people of Jahiliya practised. A man would buy the unborn offspring of the unborn offspring of a she-camel.,
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Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade muzabana. Muzabana was selling fresh dates for dried dates by measure, and selling grapes for raisins by measure.
As-Suyuti also added a criticism on a-Tamimi's statement made by 'Ala' ad-Deen Mughltay saying why was a-Shafi'i chosen as the narrator with the highest state? What about the state of abu Hanifa (this actually can be answered by two points the authenticity of abu Hanifa's reporting from Malik is somewhat doubtful, and even if he did he didn't report via Malik from Nafi'i from ibn 'Umar!) the second criticism however is stronger since for example ibn Wahb and al-Qa'anabi (one of a handful narrators of al-Muwatta' of which the copy still exists) are in regards of hadith sciences to be set higher than a-Shafi'i! But this discussion will end in a scholarly dispute based on statements of scholars who may made a statement about an actual state.
The most authentic chains of some Islamic regions
This is mainly just a "copy-paste" from this article IslamOnline.
Basically this article infoms us about the quality in terms of correctness, accurtracy of transmission and authenticity of the known Islamic regions: al-Hijaz, Yeman, Basra, a-Shaam, Misr (Egypt) and al-Kufa.
We are for example informed that from the perspective of the authenticity and accuracy of transmission Yeman is even close to that of Hijaz, but Hijaz has the highest amount of hadith and the people of Basra were among the most serious in checking sanads. So basically one could say the best quality of Haidth came from Hijaz, then Basra, then Yeman, then Egypt (generally good, but rare) or a-Sham (issue they didn't care about the sanad until ibn Shihaab warned them about the disconnection of their narrations).
For some of the author they provided a chain of transmission:
For Yemen this chain would be:
Ma'mar ibn Rashid -> Humam ibn Munbih -> abu Hurrairah.
(معمر عن همام بن منبه عن أبي هريرة)
As for a-Shaam it would be:
'Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn 'Amr al-'Awzaa'i -> Hassan ibn 'Atiyah -> from the sahabah
(عبد الرحمن بن عمرو الأوزاعي، عن حسان بن عطية، عن الصحابة)
As for Egypt it would be:
Al-Laith ibn Sa'ad -> Yazid ibn abi Habib -> abu al-Khayr -> 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani
(الليث بن سعد عن يزيد بن أبي حبيب، عن أبي الخير، عن عقبة بن عامر الجهني)
The most authentic chains of transmission on the authenticity of the sahabah who have a huge amount of narrations
Here I will need to refer to a source which tries to defend the authenticity of the 6 most known sunni hadith collections.
First of all 7 sahabah are known to have reported more than 1K of hadith on their authenticity:
As-Syutui says in hius Alifyah ألفية (see here)
وَالْمُكْثِرُونَ فِي رِوَايَةِ الأَثَرْ: ... أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ يَلِيهِ ابْنُ عُمَرْ
And those who are numerous in the narration of athar: ... Abu Huraira, followed by Ibn Umar
وَأَنَسٌ وَالْبَحْرُ كَالْخُدْرِيِّ ... وَجَابِرٌ وَزَوْجَةُ النَّبِيِّ
And Anas and the sea like al-Khudri... and Jabir and the wife of the Prophet
The sea here refers to ibn 'Abbas who's knowledge and wisdom have been said to be great like the sea or ocean.
And a historian called Jamal a-Dyn ibn Dhirah said جمال الدين بن ظهيرة said it in clear words according to this article on islamweb:
سبعٌ من الصحبِ فوق الألف قد نقلوا *** من الحديث عن المختار خير مُضر
Seven of the companions over a thousand have transmitted *** Hadith from the chosen one is good and harmful(?)
أبو هـريـرة سـعـدٌ جــــــــــابـرٌ أنـس *** صدّيقةٌ وابن عبــاسٍ كـذا ابن عمــــر
Abu Huraira Sa'd Jabir Anas *** Siddiqa and Ibn Abbas, as well as Ibn Umar
Sa'ad refers to abu Sa'id al-Khudri also known as Sa'ad ibn Malik ibn Sinan ibn 'Ubayd al-Ansaari.
So we have 7 sahabah which reported in all hadith collections available more than 1000 hadith narrations on their authority (see also here in Arabic wikipedia), their narrations in the 6 books how ever is much less:
- Abu Hurrairah () أبُو هُرَيْرَةَ الدَّوسِيُّ died 57 a.H.(5374 hadith narrations/restricted on the 6 books: 3343)
- 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar () عَبْدُ اللهِ بنِ عُمَر died 73 a.H. (2630/1979)
- Anas ibn Malik () أنَسُ بنُ مَالِك died 93 a.H. (2286/1584)
- 'Aishah () عَائِشَة died 57 a.H.(2210/2081)
- 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas () عَبْدُ اللهِ بنُ عَبَّاس died 68 a.H. (1660/1243)
- Jabir ibn 'Abdullah () جَابِرُ بنُ عَبْدِ اللهِ الأنْصَاري died 78 a.H. (1540/960)
- Abu Sa'id al-Khudri () أبُو سَعِيْدٍ الخُدْري died 53 a.H. (1170/496)
As from the perspective of the 6 most accepted sunni hadith collections you may add the following three:
- 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (عَبْدُ اللهِ بنُ مَسْعُوْد) died 32 a.H:(848/493)
- 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'Aas () عَبْدُ اللهِ بنُ عَمْرِو بنِ العَاص died 63 a.H. (700/378)
- Abu Musa al-Ash'ary () أبُو مُوْسَى الأشْعَري died 44 a.H. (360/177)
Note that according to ibn al-Jawzy's Talqeeh تلقيح فهوم أهل الأثر في عيون التاريخ والسير (see here) 'Ali ibn abi Talib (536), 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (537) and Um Salamah (378) have narrated much more ahadith than abu Musa. Still above 200 narrations are also abu Dharr al-Ghafari, Sa'ad ibn abi Waqas, al-Baraa' ibn 'Aazib, Ma'ad ibn al-Yaman and abu Ussama al-Bahili.
My source called
'Assah wa 'Ashahr ar-Ruwaat miman tadur 'alyahim asaanidu al-Kutubi as-Sitati
أصح وأشهر الرواة ممن تدور عليهم أسانيد «الكتب الستة»
The most correct and famous of the narrators on whom the chains of transmission of the “Six Books” revolve
(see article here and here as thread posts)
is a summary of a chapter from sheikh Dhyab al-Ghamidi's book in which he tries to gives tips and guideline on how to memorize hadith compilations. In this book the author has chosen the above ten sahabah and named both the most authentic chains (which is the only thing I will mention here) and the most famous one and also the 5 of the 6 scholars among the tabi'iyn and later who are involved in most of these chains and their most famous and trustworthy narrators. I suppose that the author has put some effort in doing a statistical analysis of the six books.
In the following I'll list the authentic chains on their authenticity and add links to biographies or comment roughly on some of the people or chains listed. Note that the 6 major scholars who revolve a huge amount of the ahadith in the six book can be distinguished by the number of their narratives in these books which I've added beside their names at least in their first occurrence. The scholar missing is 'Amr ibn 'Abdullah as-Sabi'iy who died 126 a.H. and was mentioned in the chains of 226 ahadith in the six books his major teachers among the sahabah are Anas ibn Malik (), al-Bara'a ibn 'Aazib () and Zayd ibn Arqam(). Among his most famous studnets you amy find teh two Sufyan's a-Thawry and ibn 'Uyynah, Sho'abah ibn al-Hajjaj (one of the hardliners in checking narrators and teacher of Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Qattan), Qatadah and the qari' of the second riwaya of 'Asim abu Bakr ibn 'ayyash also known as Sho'abah.
Abu Hurrairah (8 authentic chains)
- Az-Zuhri (1415) (died 124 a.H.)-> Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib -> abu Hurrairah.
(الزُّهْريُّ عَنْ سَعِيْدِ بنِ المُسَيَّبِ عَنْ أبي هُرَيْرَةَ)
Sa'id ibn al-Muassyib married the daughter of abu Hurrairah and was among the tabi'yn knwon for their large wisdom about 'Umar ibn al-Khattabs hadith, fiqh and verdicts.
Ibn Shihab az-Zuhri's full name is: Muhammad ibn 'Ubaid Allah ibn Shihab ibn 'Abdullah ibn Harith ibn Zuhrah az-Zuhri al-Qurashi al-Madani.
- Yahya ibn abi Kathir at-Taa'iy (144) (also known as abu Nasr al-Yamaami died 129 a.H.) -> abu Salamah -> abu Hurrairah.
(يَحْيَى بنُ أبي كَثِيْرٍ عَنْ أبي سَلَمَةَ عَنْ أبي هُرَيْرَةَ )
- Malik -> abu az-Zinad -< al-'A'araj -> abu Hurrairah.
( مَالِكٌ عَنْ أبي الزِّنَادِ عَنِ الأعْرَجِ عَنْ أبي هُرَيْرَةَ)
A chain which feels like almost half of al-Muwatta'.
- Hammad ibn Zayd -> Ayyub as-Sakhtiyani -> Muhammad ibn Sireen -< abu Hurrairah.
(حمَّادُ بنُ زَيْدٍ عَنْ أيُّوْبَ السَّخْتِيانيِّ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بنِ سِيْرِيْنَ عَنْ أبي هُرَيْرَةَ)
- Ismail ibn abi Hakeem -> 'Abidah ibn Sufyan -> abu Hurrairah.
(إسْماعِيْلُ بنُ أبي حَكِيْمٍ عَنْ عَبِيدَةَ بنِ سُفْيَانَ عَنْ أبي هُرَيْرَةَ)
- M'amar ibn Rashid -> Humam ibn Munbih -> abu Hurrairah.
(مَعْمَرُ بنُ رَاشدٍ عَنْ همَّامِ بنِ مُنبِّهٍ عَنْ أبي هُرَيْرَةَ)
The most authentic chain of the people of Yeman as stated above.
- Al-'Aamash (408)(Sulayman ibn Mihran died 148 a.H.) -> Abu Salah -> abu Hurrairah.
(الأعْمَشُ عَنْ أبي صَالحٍ عَنْ أبي هُرَيْرَةَ)
- Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn 'Alqamah -> abu Salamh -> abu Hurrairah.
(مُحَمَّدُ بنُ عَمْرِو بنِ عَلْقَمَةَ عَنْ أبي سَلَمَةَ عَنْ أبي هُرَيْرَةَ)
Ibn 'Umar (4 authentic chains)
- Malik -> Nafi'i -> ibn 'Umar.
(مَالِكٌ عَنْ نَافِعٍ عَنْ ابنِ عُمَرَ)
The golden chain as chosen by al-Bukhari.
- Ayyub -> Nafi'i -> ibn 'Umar.
(أيُّوبُ عَنْ نَافِعٍ عَنْ ابنِ عُمَرَ)
- Yayhya ibn Sa'id al-Qattan -> 'Ubayd ibn 'Umar -> Nafi'i -> ibn 'Umar.
(يَحْيَى بنُ سَعِيْدٍ القَطَّانُ عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللهِ بنِ عُمَرَ عَنْ نَافِعٍ عَنْ ابنِ عُمَرَ)
- Az-Zuhri -> Salim -> ibn 'Umar.
(الزُّهْريُّ عَنْ سَالمٍ عَنْ ابنِ عُمَرَ)
The choice of imam Ahmad.
'Aishah (6 authentic chains)
- Hisham ibn 'Urwah -> 'Urwah ibn az-Zubayr -> 'Aishah.
(هِشَامُ بنُ عُرْوَةَ عَنْ عُرْوَةَ بنِ الزُّبِيْرِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ)
- Az-Zuhri -> 'Urwah ibn az-Zubayr -> 'Aishah.
(الزُّهْرِيُّ عن عُرْوَةَ بنِ الزُّبِيْرِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ)
- 'Ubaid Allah ibn 'Umar -> al-Qaasim ibn Muhammad ibn abu Bakr (the son of 'Aishah's brother) -> 'Aishah.
(عُبَيْدُ اللهِ بنُ عُمَرَ عَنِ القَاسِمِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ)
- 'Abdurrahman ibn al-Qassim -> al-Qassim -> 'Aishah.
(عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بنُ القَاسِمِ عَنْ أبِيْهِ القَاسِمِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ)
this is a chain of reported by 3 generation of the offspring of abu Bakr (): 'Abddurahman from his father from his paternal aunt from the prophet ().
- Aflah ibn Humayd -> al-Qasim -> 'Aishah.
(أفْلَحُ بنُ حُمَيْدٍ عَنِ القَاسِمِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ)
- Sufyan a-Thawry -> Mansur ibn Ibraheem -> al-Aswad -> 'Aishah.
(سُفْيَانُ الثَّوريُّ عَنْ مَنْصُوْرِ عَنْ إبْرَاهِيْمَ عَنِ الأسْوَدِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ)
Anas (6 authentic chains)
- Malik -> az-Zuhri -> Anas.
(مَالِكُ عَنِ الزُّهْريِّ عَنْ أنسِ بنِ مَالِكٍ)
- Sufyan ibn 'Uyyanah -> az-Zuhri -> Anas.
(سُفْيَانُ بنُ عُيَيْنَةَ عَنِ الزُّهْريِّ عَنْ أنسِ بنِ مَالِكٍ)
- Ma'amar -> az-Zuhri -> Anas.
(مَعْمَرٌ عَنِ الزُّهْريِّ عَنْ أنسِ بنِ مَالِكٍ)
- Hammad ibn Zayd -> Thabit -> Anas.
(حمَّادُ بنُ زَيْدٍ عَنْ ثَابِتٍ عَنْ أنسِ بنِ مَالِكٍ)
- Sho'abah -> Qatadah ibn Di'amah as-Sadusi (462) (abu al-Khattab, died 71 a.H.) -> Anas.
(شُعْبَةُ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ عَنْ أنسِ بنِ مَالِكٍ)
Qatadah's full name is abu al-Khttab Qatadah ibn Di'aamah ibn 'Aziz ibn 'Amr ibn Rabi'ah ibn 'Amr ibn al-Harith as-Sadusi al-Basri al-'Aama.
- Hishaam a-Dastawaani -> Qatadah -> Anas.
(هِشَامٌ الدَّسْتَوائيُّ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ عَنْ أنسِ بنِ مَالِكٍ)
Ibn 'Abbas (one authentic chain)
- Az-Zuhri -> 'Ubaid Allah ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Utbah -> ibn 'Abbas.
(الزُّهْريُّ عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللهِ بنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ بنِ عُتْبَةَ عَنْ ابنِ عَبَّاسٍ)
Ibn Mas'ud (two authentic chains)
- A-Thawry -> Mansur -> Ibraheem -> 'Alqamah -> ibn Masu'd.
(الثَّوْريُّ عَنْ مَنْصُوْرٍ عَنْ إبْرَاهِيْمَ عَنْ عَلْقَمَةَ عَنْ ابنِ مَسْعُوْدٍ )
- Al-'aamash -> Ibraheem -> 'Alqamah -> ibn Masu'd.
(الأعْمَشُ عَنْ إبْرَاهِيْمَ عَنْ عَلْقَمَةَ عَنْ ابنِ مَسْعُوْدٍ)
Jabir (one authentic chain)
- Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah -> 'Amr ibn Deenar al-Makki (90) (also known as abu Muhammad al-Athram al-Jumahy died 126 a.H.) ) -> Jabir.
(سُفْيَانُ بنُ عُيَيْنَةَ عَنْ عَمْرِو بنِ دِيْنَارٍ عَنْ جَابِرِ بنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ)
Abu Musa (one authentic chain)
- Sho'abah -> 'Amr ibn Murrah -< his father Murrah ibn Sharhabeel -> Abu Musa.
(شُعْبَةُ عَنْ عَمْرِو بنِ مُرَّةَ عَنْ أبِيْهِ مُرَّةَ بنِ شَرَاحِيْلَ عَنْ أبي مُوْسَى الأشْعَريِّ)
Abu Sa'id (3 authentic chains)
- Al-'Aamash -> abu Salah -> abu Sa'id al-Khudri.
(الأعْمَشُ عَنْ أبي صَالِحٍ عَنْ أبي سَعِيْدٍ الخُدْريِّ)
- Zayd ibn Aslam -> 'Ataa' ibn Yassar -> abu Sa'id al-Khudri.
(زِيْدُ بنُ أسْلَمَ عَنْ عَطَاءَ بنِ يَسَارٍ عَنْ أبي سَعِيْدٍ الخُدْريِّ)
- Sa'id ibn Iyyas al-jurary -> abu Nadrah al-Mundhir -> abu Sa'id al-Khudri.
(سَعِيْدُ بنُ إيَاسٍ الجُرَيْريُّ عَنْ أبي نَضْرَةَ المُنْذِرِ بنِ مَالِكٍ عَنْ أبي سَعِيْدٍ الخُدْريِّ )
'Abdlullah ibn 'Amr (one authentic chain)
- 'Amr ibn Sho'ayb -> his father -> his grandfather 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr.
(عَمْرُو بنُ شُعَيْبٍ عَنْ أبِيْهِ عَنْ جَدِّهِ عَبْدِ اللهِ بنِ عَمْرٍو)
The narrators of this chain are all of the offspring of 'Amr ibn al-'Aas.
'Amr ibn Sho'ayb's narration from his father Muhammad ibn 'Abduallah ibn 'Amr via his grandfather is not accepted by some scholars like abu Dawood a-Sijistani. However a deeper check shows that all of the allegation that hadith scholars took against him as a narrator can be lifted as shown in this article by a contemporary scholar for example a major criticism of the above chain is based on rather less reliable narrators who reported via this source like ibn Lahi'a and other weak rawis.
