Is knowledge to be taken from the book "Riyad al-Nadrah fi Manaqib al-Asharah" by its author Muhibb al-Din al-Tabari, despite its inclusion of hadiths such as: "I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, standing with Ali, when Abu Bakr approached, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, shook his hand, embraced him, and kissed Abu Bakr’s mouth, then he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: 'O Abu al-Hasan, the status of Abu Bakr with me is like my status with my Lord,'" which was narrated by al-Mulla in his biography? And is knowledge to be taken from al-Mulla himself?

Muhibb al-Din al-Tabari is one of the great Shafi'i scholars and Hadith specialists. His book, "Al-Riyadh Al-Nadira fi Manaqib al-'Ashara" (The Fresh Gardens in the Virtues of the Ten), collects Hadiths without distinguishing between the authentic (sahih) and the weak (da'if). Therefore, his mere mention of a Hadith does not imply its authenticity. Furthermore, the book "Sirat al-Mulla Omar bin Muhammad bin al-Khidr," upon which al-Tabari relied, is known for containing fabricated (mawdu') Hadiths. His mention of the Hadith about the Prophet (peace be upon him) kissing Abu Bakr's mouth was not narrated with a chain of transmission (isnad). The esteemed status of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq is established by authentic texts and does not require such Hadiths.