Note / Clarification: (3) Our manuscripts have "sittah 'ashar", which is grammatically incorrect since the word "sanah" (year) is feminine. The correct form is what we have established, in agreement with "Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah" 5/ 334, 13/ 45 and 4/ 315.

Grading: (4) Its narrators are thiqah (trustworthy).
Reference / Source: It is in "Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah" 5/ 334, 13/ 45 and 14/ 315, and via him Ibn Abi 'Asim narrated it in "al-Ahad wa al-Mathani" (199), al-Tabarani in "al-Kabir" (224) and Abu Nu'aym in "Ma'rifat al-Sahabah" (418).
Details of the narration: All of them added in their narration: "He (al-Zubayr) did not stay behind from any expedition that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) fought." This will also come at number (5647) among other reports.

Corroborating chains and supporting reports: Ahmad narrated it in "al-'Ilal" (in the narration of his son 'Abdullah, 3813) and in "Fada'il al-Sahabah" (1265), and via him Abu Bakr al-Khallal in "al-Sunnah" (739), Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi in "Mu'jam al-Sahabah" (784) and Ibn 'Asakir 18/ 345. Also 'Abdullah bin Ahmad narrated it in his additions to his father's "al-'Ilal" (3813), and from him al-Tabarani (237), from Yahya bin Ma'in. Both of them (Ahmad bin Hanbal and Ibn Ma'in) narrate it from Abu Usamah Hammad bin Usamah, in the same way.
Details of the narration: Imam Ahmad added in his narration that al-Zubayr did not stay behind from any expedition that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) fought.

Technical note / Defect ('illah): Some narrators narrated this report from Abu Usamah Hammad bin Usamah, from Hisham bin 'Urwah, from his father 'Urwah.

Corroborating chains and supporting reports: In this way al-Baladhuri narrated it in "Ansab al-Ashraf" 9/ 421; Abu Nu'aym in "al-Hilyah" 1/ 89 and "Ma'rifat al-Sahabah" (415) via two routes from Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah, and via 'Uthman bin Abi Shaybah; Abu Nu'aym in "al-Ma'rifah" (412) and (416) via Abu Kurayb Muhammad bin al-'Ala'; and al-Bayhaqi in "al-Sunan al-Kubra" 6/ 208 and Ibn 'Asakir 18/ 345 via Yusuf bin Muhammad al-Saffar.
Technical note / Defect ('illah): These four narrate it from Abu Usamah, from Hisham bin 'Urwah bin al-Zubayr, from his father 'Urwah. They made it the words of 'Urwah, not of his son Hisham, and they too added in it that al-Zubayr did not stay behind from any of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) expeditions.

Technical note / Defect ('illah): Contradicting this from 'Urwah bin al-Zubayr, regarding al-Zubayr's age when he accepted Islam, is what will come at number (5646) via al-Layth bin Sa'd, from Abu al-Aswad, from him: "Al-Zubayr accepted Islam at the age of eight (8)."
Grading: Its narrators are thiqah (trustworthy), but there is disagreement over it on al-Layth bin Sa'd. Some narrate it from him from Abu al-Aswad and make it Abu al-Aswad's own words, not those of his shaykh 'Urwah bin al-Zubayr (as will be explained there), and some say in their narration from Abu al-Aswad: "Al-Zubayr accepted Islam at the age of twelve (12)." And Allah the Exalted knows best.

General principle: Al-Baghawi and Ibn 'Abd al-Barr in "al-Isti'ab" p. 261 declared correct the view that al-Zubayr accepted Islam at the age of sixteen (16).