It is narrated from Sufyan al-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him) that he wrote to Abd al-Rahman bin al-Baylamani asking him about a hadith he narrated from his father, and he wrote back: His father told him that he sat in a gathering of a group of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and one of them said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever repents to Allah a year before his death, Allah will accept his repentance." At this another one asked: Did you hear this yourself from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: Yes. He said: I too have heard it. Then another said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever repents to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, one day before his death, Allah will accept his repentance." Another asked: Did you hear this yourself from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: Yes. He said: I too have heard it. Then another said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever repents to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, one hour before his death, Allah will accept his repentance." Another asked: Did you hear this yourself from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: Yes. He said: I too have heard it. Then another said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever repents before the gurgling (the death rattle) begins, Allah will accept his repentance." Although Sufyan bin Sa'id is a greater hafiz of hadith than al-Darawardi and Hisham bin Sa'd, he did not mention in this hadith that he heard it directly from Ibn al-Baylamani or from Zayd bin Aslam; rather, he mentioned it by way of permission (ijazah) and correspondence. Therefore, in this matter the word of those who narrated it with the chain "Zayd bin Aslam from Ibn al-Baylamani from a man among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)" is more reliable. And Abdullah bin Nafi' al-Madani, in his narration from Hisham bin Sa'd, made the name of this Companion clear: he is Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both).