It is narrated from Sayyiduna Safwan bin Assal al-Muradi (may Allah be pleased with him) that a Jew said to his companion: Take us to this Prophet so that we may ask him about this verse: "And We certainly gave Musa (peace be upon him) nine clear signs." [Surah al-Isra': 101] His companion said: Do not call him 'Prophet', for if he heard you, he would have four eyes (that is, he would be delighted). The narrator says: So the two of them asked him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not associate anything with Allah, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not kill the soul that Allah has made sacred except by right, do not practise magic, do not consume usury (riba), do not take an innocent person to a ruler (to have him punished) so that he kills him, do not slander a chaste woman, and you, O Jews, are specifically obliged not to transgress on the Sabbath (by fishing)." On hearing these words of his (peace and blessings be upon him), the two of them kissed his blessed hand and feet and said: We bear witness that you are indeed a Prophet. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Then what has prevented you from accepting Islam?" They said: Dawud (peace be upon him) prayed that there would always be a Prophet among his descendants, and we fear that if we accept Islam the Jews will kill us. This is a sahih hadith in which we know of no hidden defect ('illah) from any angle, but both of them did not record it, nor did they mention even a single hadith of Safwan bin Assal. I heard Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ya'qub al-Hafiz, when Muhammad bin Ubayd asked him: Why did the two of them leave the hadith of Safwan bin Assal altogether? He replied: Because of the corruption of the route (chain) leading to him. Imam al-Hakim says: By this Abu Abdullah meant the chain of Asim from Zirr, because both of them left Asim bin Bahdalah. As for Abdullah bin Salimah al-Muradi (whose kunyah is Abu al-Aliyah), he is one of the senior companions of Sayyiduna Ali and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with them both); he took narrations from Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas, Jabir bin Abdullah and others, and Abu al-Zubayr al-Makki and a group of the Successors narrated from him.

I heard Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ya'qub al-Hafiz, when Muhammad bin Ubayd asked him: Why did the two of them (Imam Bukhari and Muslim) leave the hadith of Safwan bin Assal altogether? He replied: Because of the corruption of the route (chain) leading to him. Imam al-Hakim says: By this Abu Abdullah meant the chain of Asim from Zirr, because both of them left Asim bin Bahdalah. As for Abdullah bin Salimah al-Muradi (whose kunyah is Abu al-Aliyah), he is one of the senior companions of Sayyiduna Ali and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with them both); he took narrations from Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas, Jabir bin Abdullah and others, and Abu al-Zubayr al-Makki and a group of the Successors narrated from him.