He said: "I am innocent of every Muslim who settles among the polytheists." They said: O Messenger of Allah, why? He said: "Their two fires must not be visible to one another."(1)

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(1) Its chain of transmission is authentic. There is disagreement over whether it is connected (mawsul) or interrupted (mursal). It was connected by Abu Mu'awiyah—namely Muhammad ibn Khazim al-Darir—and by Hafs ibn Ghiyath and al-Hajjaj ibn Artah, while others transmitted it as interrupted. The connected version was declared authentic by Ibn al-Qattan al-Fasi in "Bayan al-Wahm wa al-Iham" 5/421, and by Ibn Daqiq al-'Id in "al-Imam," as quoted from him by Ibn al-Mulaqqin in "al-Badr al-Munir" 9/164. The interrupted version was declared authentic by al-Bukhari, as in al-Tirmidhi's "al-'Ilal al-Kabir" 2/686, and by al-Tirmidhi following the narration (1697) in his "Jami'," and by Abu Hatim al-Razi, as in his son's "al-'Ilal" 1/314, and by al-Daraqutni in "al-'Ilal" 4/folio 88. Isma'il: he is Ibn Abi Khalid, and Qays: he is Ibn Abi Hazim, a prominent Successor who lived in both the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods.

It was also transmitted by al-Tirmidhi in his "Jami'" (1696), and in "al-'Ilal al-Kabir" 2/686, by al-Tabarani in "al-Kabir" (2264), by Ibn Hazm in "al-Muhalla" 10/369 and 11/199, and by al-Bayhaqi in "al-Sunan al-Kubra" 8/131 and 9/142, and in "Shu'ab al-Iman" (8929), via the route of Abu Mu'awiyah al-Darir, with this chain.

It was also transmitted by Ibn Abi 'Asim in "al-Diyat" p. 91, by al-Tahawi in "Sharh Mushkil al-Athar" (3233), by al-Tabarani (3836), and by al-Bayhaqi in "al-Kubra" 8/131, via the route of Hafs ibn Ghiyath, from Isma'il ibn Abi Khalid, from Qays ibn Abi Hazim, from Khalid ibn al-Walid, that the Prophet, peace be upon him, sent him to a group of Khath'am... the hadith, thus making it part of the Musnad of Khalid ibn al-Walid, and that he was the leader of that expedition. Disagreement over the Companion [who narrated it] does no harm, as long as the chain to him is authentic. However, in al-Bayhaqi alone it occurs: from Jarir ibn 'Abd Allah.

It was also transmitted by al-Tabarani (2265) via the route of Salih ibn 'Umar al-Wasiti, and also by al-Tabarani (2262), and by al-Bayhaqi in "al-Shu'ab" (8928) via the route of al-Hajjaj ibn Artah, both from Isma'il ibn Abi Khalid, from Qays ibn Abi Hazim, from Jarir ibn 'Abd Allah. These two chains, although they contain some criticism, are suitable for consideration. The narration of al-Hajjaj is abbreviated, containing only the prohibition against residing among the polytheists. =