It is narrated from Sayyiduna Usamah bin Sharik (may Allah be pleased with him) that we were sitting in the company of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with such utmost reverence and composure that it was as if birds were perched on our heads, and none of us was speaking. Meanwhile, some Bedouins came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and began asking about various matters: "O Messenger of Allah! Tell us about such-and-such; give us a ruling about such-and-such." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O people! Allah Almighty has lifted hardship, except for the one who unjustly attacks the honour of his brother; that is the one who has fallen into sin and is ruined." They said: "O Messenger of Allah! Should we use medicine (in illness)?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes. Indeed, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has not sent down any disease without sending down a cure for it, except for one disease." They said: "O Messenger of Allah! What is it?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Old age." They asked: "Who among His servants is most beloved to Allah?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Those who are best in character."

Shayban bin Abd al-Rahman al-Nahwi has also narrated this same hadith through Ziyad bin Ilaqah.

Warqa' bin Umar al-Yashkuri has also narrated this same hadith through Ziyad bin Ilaqah.

Zuhayr bin Mu'awiyah al-Ju'fi has also narrated this same hadith through Ziyad bin Ilaqah from Sayyiduna Usamah bin Sharik (may Allah be pleased with him).

Amr bin Abi Qays al-Razi has also narrated this same hadith through Simak bin Harb.

Muhammad bin Bishr bin Bashir al-Aslami has also narrated this same hadith through Ziyad bin Ilaqah, and he is one of the most eminent among the trustworthy narrators. Imam al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) says: This report reached me through Sulayman bin Sayf al-Harrani from Abu Asim, that he narrated it from Muhammad bin Bishr bin Bashir al-Aslami, and he from Ziyad bin Ilaqah.

Isra'il has narrated this same hadith through Abu Ishaq. Imam al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) says: The routes (chains) of this hadith that I have mentioned are fewer than half. I sought out the narrators whom the two Shaykhs (Imam Bukhari and Muslim) agreed to accept as proof in their two Sahihs, yet more than half still remains to be mentioned in this book of mine, so that the student of this knowledge may reflect: should such a hadith, despite its fame and its many narrators, be abandoned merely because only one trustworthy and accepted Tabi'i narrates it from the Companion? Imam Abu al-Hasan Ali bin Umar al-Hafiz (al-Daraqutni) (may Allah have mercy on him) asked me: "Why did the two of them (Imam Bukhari and Muslim) leave out the hadith of Usamah bin Sharik from their books?" I replied: "Because they did not find anyone narrating from Usamah bin Sharik other than Ziyad bin Ilaqah." Then Abu al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) told me the following, and wrote it for me in his own hand: Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) recorded, by way of Yahya bin Hammad, through Abu Awanah, Bayan bin Bishr and Qays bin Abi Hazim, from Mirdas al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) this hadith: "The righteous will depart one after another," although Mirdas has no narrator other than Qays. Likewise, Imam Bukhari recorded two hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) by way of Zuhrah bin Ma'bad from his grandfather Abdullah bin Hisham bin Zuhrah, whereas Abdullah has no narrator other than Zuhrah. Moreover, both of them (Bukhari and Muslim) agreed on recording the hadith of Qays bin Abi Hazim from Adi bin Amirah in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whomever we appoint as an official over some work," although Adi bin Amirah has no narrator other than Qays. Likewise, both of them agreed on the hadith of Majza'ah bin Zahir al-Aslami from his father, in which the meat of domestic donkeys was forbidden, whereas Zahir has no narrator other than Majza'ah. Imam Bukhari also recorded the hadith of al-Hasan al-Basri from Amr bin Taghlib, whereas Amr has no narrator other than al-Hasan. Yet this hadith of Ziyad bin Ilaqah from Usamah bin Sharik is more authentic, more famous and has more narrators than all of these hadiths. Abu al-Hasan (al-Daraqutni) says: (It is not correct to say that Usamah has only one narrator, because) Ali bin al-Aqmar and Mujahid have also narrated from Usamah bin Sharik. In support of this hadith, hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) are also narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah and Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with them).