Technical note / Defect ('illah): It is like this in the manuscripts, whereas "Hilyat al-Awliya'" has "dakhala rajul" (a man entered), and this appears to be correct; "Shu'ab al-Iman" has "dakhalna" (we entered), which we consider an error or a corruption, since al-Sha'bi's narration from 'A'ishah is "mursal". Our strong presumption is that this unnamed man in al-Sha'bi's narration, who entered upon 'A'ishah, is "Masruq bin al-Ajda'", as will come in the note on the author's next narration, and Masruq is one of al-Sha'bi's teachers. Abu Hatim al-Razi said (as in his son's "al-Marasil", p. 159): "al-Sha'bi from 'A'ishah is mursal; he only narrates from Masruq from 'A'ishah." Especially since both routes are narrated by Abu al-Bilad, who thus has two shaykhs in them: al-Sha'bi, as in this narration, and Muslim bin Subayh, as in the next narration, and both of them narrate it from Masruq. And Allah Most High knows best.

Grading: It is "hasan" on account of the narration that follows it.
Technical note / Defect ('illah): There is no harm in its narrators, but al-Sha'bi did not hear from 'A'ishah; between them, in our view, is Masruq, as stated in the previous note. Mis'ar is Ibn Kidam. Abu al-Bilad was named by al-Bukhari in "al-Tarikh al-Kabir" (8/ 280) as "Yahya bin Sulayman al-Ghatafani", while Ibn Abi Hatim (9/ 160) named him Yahya bin Abi Sulayman and quoted Yahya bin Ma'in declaring him thiqah.

Reference / Source: Abu Nu'aym narrated it in "al-Hilyah" (9/ 233), and likewise al-Bayhaqi in "Shu'ab al-Iman" (7828) via Abu Bakr bin Ishaq al-Faqih; both of them (Abu Nu'aym and Abu Bakr) from 'Abd Allah bin Ahmad, with this same chain.

Note / Clarification: In this connection see the hadith that follows and the earlier hadith number (3940).