Grading: (1) This hadith is "sahih li-ghayrihi", while this chain is weak due to the weakness of Abd al-A'la bin Amir (al-Tha'labi). Technical note / Defect ('illah): Sufyan is "al-Thawri", and Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami is "Abd Allah bin Habib".

Reference / Source: Abd Allah bin Ahmad narrated it in his additions (zawa'id) to his father's Musnad (2/1088) from Ishaq bin Isma'il, from Qabisah, with this same chain.

Reference / Source: Ahmad (699) and al-Tirmidhi (2281) narrated it via two routes from Sufyan.

Reference / Source: Ahmad (568, 694) narrated it via Isra'il, from Abd al-A'la, in the same way.

Corroborating chains and supporting reports: It has a supporting report (shahid) in the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), narrated by al-Bukhari in his "Sahih" (7042), with the wording: "Whoever claims to have seen a dream which he did not see will be made (on the Day of Resurrection) to tie a knot between two barley grains, and he will never be able to do it."

General principle: See the previous hadith of Abu Shurayh al-Adawi, no. (8223).

General principle: Al-Tabari (as quoted by Ibn Hajar in "al-Fath" 22/521) says: The threat for lying about a dream is so severe (even though lying while awake can be more harmful than it, such as false testimony concerning killing, a hadd punishment or taking wealth) because lying about a dream is really lying against Allah, claiming that He showed him what He did not show him, and lying against Allah is graver than lying against created beings. Allah the Exalted says: ﴿وَيَقُولُ الْأَشْهَادُ هَؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ كَذَبُوا عَلَى رَبِّهِمْ﴾ [And the witnesses will say: These are the ones who lied against their Lord] [Hud: 18]. And lying about a dream is lying against Allah because of the hadith "The dream is a part of prophethood", and whatever is a part of prophethood comes from Allah the Exalted.