Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr transmitted in his *Musnad ʿUmar* the statements of ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī in a number of hadiths, saying: “a ḥasan hadith,” or “a ḥasan chain,” or “a sound chain,” or “a good chain.” See these in *Musnad ʿUmar* 1/111, 132, 277, 288, 307, 333, 357, 512, 326, 544, and 605. However, because al-Tirmidhī applied this terminology extensively in his *Jāmiʿ* and drew attention to it, he became more famous for it than anyone else. Among such instances is what al-Tirmidhī mentioned in his *ʿIlal al-Kabīr* 1/175–176: that he asked al-Bukhārī about the hadiths specifying the time limit for wiping over the leather socks, and he said: “The hadith of Ṣafwān ibn ʿAssāl (96) is ṣaḥīḥ, and the hadith of Abū Bakrah is ḥasan.”(1)

In the *ʿIlal al-Kabīr* and the *Jāmiʿ*, there are not a few hadiths in which he transmitted from al-Bukhārī that he deemed them ḥasan.(2) Al-Sakhāwī mentioned that Ibn al-Madīnī used “ḥasan” for what is considered ḥasan in itself, while al-Bukhārī used it for what is considered ḥasan due to other factors. He then mentioned that al-Tirmidhī was the one who used this expression extensively and drew attention to it, and then gave an example of what al-Bukhārī deemed ḥasan while al-Tirmidhī and others deemed it ṣaḥīḥ. Thus, with al-Tirmidhī it is frequent, whereas with those before him it is rare—especially according to the terminology he established.(3)

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(1) As for the hadith of Ṣafwān to which he referred, it contains the conditions of authenticity. As for the hadith of Abū Bakrah, Ibn Mājah narrated it (556) via the narration of al-Muhājir Abū Makhlad, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Bakrah, from his father, may Allah be pleased with him. Regarding al-Muhājir, Wahīb said that he was not a precise memorizer, Ibn Maʿīn said he was ṣāliḥ, al-Sājī said he was ṣadūq, and Abū Ḥātim said he was layyin al-ḥadīth and his hadith is written down. Thus, this is on the condition of ḥasan in itself.

(2) *Al-ʿIlal al-Kabīr*, hadiths (13), (15), (16), (245), (297), and (322).

(3) *Fatḥ al-Mughīth Sharḥ Alfiyyat al-Ḥadīth* by Shams al-Dīn al-Sakhāwī, 1/72.