Mishkat al-Masabih

Hadith Authentication:
The chain of narration for this report is weak.
◄ In its chain, there is a narrator, «رجل من الأنصار من أهل الفقه», whose status is unknown (majhool al-haal).
To my knowledge, no one has authenticated him.
Calling someone «من أهل الفقه» or «غير متهم» during the era of hadith compilation does not constitute authentication.
◄ In Musnad Ahmad [6/1], Musnad Abi Ya’la [ح10], Musnad al-Bazzar [البحرالزخار 56/1 ح4], al-Tarikh al-Kabir by al-Bukhari [169/1], and Musnad Abi Bakr al-Siddiq [ح14], it is «من اهل الفقه».
Whereas in Kashf al-Astar [ح1] it is «من اهل العبقة», and in Majma’ al-Zawa’id [14/1] it has mistakenly been printed as «من اهل الثقة».
◄ Habib al-Rahman Azmi Deobandi, without any investigation, has declared the wording with «من اهل العقبة» to be authentic, which, in light of the above references, is rejected.

Note:
In Mir’at al-Mafatih [113/1], without investigation, «من اهل الثقة» has also been written, and then an attempt has been made to answer it, whereas the truth and justice is that these words are not established in the chain of this narration. «والله هو الموفق»
◄ In Musnad Ahmad [7/1ح37], there is a brief supporting narration (shahid) for some of the hadith, whose chain is weak for two reasons:
➊ Abu al-Huwairith ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu’awiyah is weak. [نيل المقصود : 1105] The majority of hadith scholars have declared him weak. See: [مجمع الزوائد 1؍8]

Note:
Upon further investigation, it has become clear that, according to the preferred opinion, Abu al-Huwairith mentioned here was considered trustworthy (thiqah) by the majority of hadith scholars, and thus his hadith is hasan. Therefore, this is not a reason for weakness.
➋ The chain is disconnected (munqati’). Muhammad ibn Jubayr did not hear anything from Sayyiduna ‘Uthman radi Allahu anhu, so it is incorrect for al-Busayri and al-Suyuti to declare this chain as hasan.

Second Supporting Narration:
Without the mention of Sayyiduna ‘Uthman radi Allahu anhu, there is a supporting narration for some of the hadith in Musnad Ahmad [28/1ح187]. Its chain is also weak due to Mujalid ibn Sa’id (who is weak).

Third Supporting Narration:
With the mention of Sayyiduna ‘Uthman radi Allahu anhu, but without this context, there is a supporting narration for some of the hadith in Musnad Ahmad [63/1 ح447] and al-Mustadrak al-Hakim [351/1], but this supporting narration’s chain is also weak.
In this chain, both Sa’id ibn Abi ‘Arubah and Qatadah ibn Di’amah are mudallis, and they are narrating from «عن», so it is incorrect to call this chain «صحيح على شرط الشيخين».

Fourth Supporting Narration:
In Musnad Abi Ya’la [ح9], al-Bahr al-Zakhar [ح5], Musnad Abi Bakr al-Siddiq by al-Marwazi [ح7، 8], Shu’ab al-Iman by al-Bayhaqi [107/1ح92], etc., it is narrated from the chain of «الزهري عن سعيد بن المسيب عن عثمان عن ابي بكر». This chain is also weak.
Al-Zuhri is a mudallis and the narration is from «عن». Imam al-Bukhari says about this narration that «ولا يصح فيه سعيد» “the word Sa’id in it is not authentic.” [التارخ الكبير169/1]

You have seen that this narration with this text, along with all its supporting narrations, is weak and rejected. However, it is absolutely correct and established that salvation depends on sincerely affirming “La ilaha illallah” and “Muhammadur Rasulullah,” provided that a person openly disavows all forms of shirk (polytheism) and kufr (disbelief).
Sayyiduna ‘Uthman radi Allahu anhu states that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: «من مات وهو يعلم أنه لا إلٰه إلا الله دخل الجنة» Whoever dies in such a state that he knows (with a sincere heart) that there is no deity except Allah (and that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is the Messenger of Allah), will enter Paradise. [صحيح مسلم : 26/136]
Sayyiduna ‘Uthman radi Allahu anhu personally heard this narration from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. See: [صحيح مسلم 26/137]

Emphatic Note:
A similar story to the aforementioned narration is reported from Sayyiduna Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydullah radi Allahu anhu, to whom Sayyiduna ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu narrated the hadith. See Musnad Ahmad [161/1ح1386], ‘Amal al-Yawm wa’l-Laylah by al-Nasa’i [1100], and its chain is authentic. Al-Hakim authenticated it according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim) [350/1، 351], and al-Dhahabi agreed (!)
If a person who committed shirk or kufr recites this testimony at the last moment and openly disavows shirk and kufr, he will attain salvation. «والله غفور رحيم»

Note:
Some people have also made interpretations and explanations of this unauthenticated narration reported from Sayyiduna ‘Uthman radi Allahu anhu, but when the narration itself is weak, there is no need for such interpretations and explanations.