34 - Chapter on Eating Locusts

3812 - Hafs ibn Umar al-Namari narrated to us, Shu'bah narrated to us, from Abu Ya'fur:
I heard Ibn Abi Awfa and asked him about locusts. He said: "I fought alongside the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, in six — or seven — campaigns, and we used to eat them with him."

3813 - Muhammad ibn al-Faraj al-Baghdadi narrated to us, Ibn al-Zibriqan narrated to us, Sulayman al-Taymi narrated to us, from Abu Uthman al-Nahdi, from Salman, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was asked about locusts, and he said: "They are the most numerous of Allah's soldiers. I do not eat them, nor do I forbid them."

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= It has also been recorded by Ahmad (7039) via the route of Mu'ammal ibn Isma'il, and by al-Tabarani in "al-Awsat" (2809) via the route of Ibrahim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Sami, and by al-Hakim 2/103, and al-Bayhaqi 9/333 via the route of Ahmad ibn Ishaq al-Hadrami — all three of them from Wuhaib, with this chain of transmission.

(1) Its chain of transmission is sound. Ibn Abi Awfa: he is Abdullah, and Abu Ya'fur: he is Waqdan al-Abdi al-Kufi.
It has also been recorded by al-Bukhari (5495), Muslim (1952), al-Tirmidhi (1925), (1926), and (1927), and al-Nasa'i (4356) and (4357) via various routes from Abu Ya'fur al-Abdi, from Ibn Abi Awfa.
It is also in "Musnad Ahmad" (19112) and "Sahih Ibn Hibban" (5257).
His statement: "and we used to eat them with him." Al-Hafiz said: It is possible that by "with him" he means merely the campaigns themselves, without what followed of eating locusts, and it is possible that he means along with his eating. We say: The first interpretation is supported by the hadith that follows this one in the author's collection.

(2) Ibn al-Zibriqan — and his name is Muhammad ibn al-Zibriqan al-Ahwazi, Abu Hammam — although the two Shaykhs [al-Bukhari and Muslim] cited him as evidence, there is criticism of him that lowers him from the rank of trustworthy, especially when he contradicts others. He was followed in the route that comes after this in the author's collection by Abu al-Awwam — who is Fa'id ibn Kaysan — and he is below the rank of trustworthy. They were contradicted by Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Ansari, Mu'tamir ibn Sulayman, and Yazid ibn Harun, who narrated it from Sulayman =