Technical note / Defect ('illah): In the manuscripts the word "bin" has been mistakenly inserted between the names of the narrators Abu Ishaq and Ibrahim.

Grading: This hadith is hasan (li-ghayrihi), although this isnad in itself is da'if (weak).
Technical note / Defect ('illah): In this isnad, Bakr bin Sahl and Muhammad bin Abd al-Aziz al-Ramli — who is al-Umari al-Wasiti — both have weakness, but both of them are corroborated (which removes the weakness). Also, Shurayh bin Ubayd al-Hadrami did not live in the time of any of Abu Umamah (al-Bahili), al-Harith bin al-Harith or al-Miqdam (bin Ma'dikarib) (i.e. the isnad is broken); this was stated by Abu Hatim al-Razi.
Details of the narration: Moreover, there is disagreement over its isnad from Isma'il bin Ayyash, as will be detailed ahead.

Reference / Source: It was recorded by al-Tahawi in "Sharh Mushkil al-Athar" (89) via Ibrahim bin Abi Dawud, from Muhammad bin Abd al-Aziz al-Wasiti, with this same isnad.
Details of the narration: Al-Tahawi joined Ibrahim bin al-Ala' bin Zibriq (together) with Muhammad bin Abd al-Aziz, and (higher up in the chain) added Amr bin al-Aswad along with Jubayr bin Nufayr and those with him; and this Amr is a Tabi'i.

Details of the narration: It was also recorded by al-Tabarani in "al-Kabir" 17/ (302) via Yahya bin Salih, from Muhammad bin Abd al-Aziz, from Isma'il bin Ayyash, from Damdam (bin Zur'ah), from Shurayh, from Kathir bin Murrah, from Utbah bin Abd and Abu Umamah.
Technical note / Defect ('illah): So here the narrator inserted Kathir bin Murrah as an intermediary between Shurayh and his two Companion sources (Utbah bin Abd and Abu Umamah), and in this way he contradicted the majority of the narrators who narrate from Isma'il, as will be mentioned.

Corroborating chains and supporting reports: It was recorded by Abu Dawud (4889) — and via him by al-Bayhaqi 8/ 333 and by Ibn Abd al-Barr in "al-Tamhid" 18/ 24 — from Sa'id bin Amr al-Hadrami; by Ibn Abi Asim in "al-Ahad wa al-Mathani" (2449) and (2834) from Abd al-Wahhab bin Najdah al-Hawti, and at number (2835) from Abd al-Wahhab bin al-Dahhak; by Ibn Abi Asim in "al-Ahad wa al-Mathani" (2832) and "al-Sunnah" (1073), and al-Tabarani in "al-Kabir" (7515), via Muhammad bin Isma'il bin Ayyash; by al-Tahawi in "Sharh Mushkil al-Athar" (88) via Sa'id bin Sulayman al-Wasiti, and at number (89) via Ibrahim bin al-Ala' bin Zibriq; by al-Tabarani in "al-Kabir" (7516) and "Musnad al-Shamiyyin" (1660) via Hisham bin Ammar; and in "al-Kabir" 20/ (651) and "al-Awsat" (7960) via Muhammad bin al-Mubarak al-Suri. All eight of these narrators narrate it from Isma'il bin Ayyash, with this same isnad, from Jubayr, Kathir, al-Miqdam, Abu Umamah and others.

Technical note / Defect ('illah): Only in the narration of Ibn Abi Asim, which is via Muhammad bin Isma'il, is there this addition at the beginning of the hadith: "After me there will be rulers, so render to them their obedience, for the ruler is like a shield by which one is protected. If they act rightly and command you with good, it is (good) for them and for you; and if they do wrong and command you to it, the burden of it is on them and not on you, and you are free of it."
Grading: Abu Hatim al-Razi said, as mentioned in "al-'Ilal" (2761): This hadith is extremely munkar (munkar jiddan).

Technical note / Defect ('illah): Baqiyyah bin al-Walid contradicted the majority of the companions (students) of Isma'il bin Ayyash, as narrated in Ahmad 39/ (23815) and al-Tabarani's "al-Kabir" 20/ (607). He narrated it from Isma'il bin Ayyash, from Damdam bin Zur'ah, from Shurayh bin Ubayd, from Jubayr bin Nufayr and Amr bin al-Aswad, from al-Miqdad bin al-Aswad and Abu Umamah.
Grading: And Baqiyyah bin al-Walid is not that strong (in memory and precision).

Corroborating chains and supporting reports: On this topic there is also a narration from Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), found in Abu Dawud (4888), and Ibn Hibban (5760) graded it sahih.

Technical note / Defect ('illah): In the manuscripts this name has been corrupted into "Hunaydah".