It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was returning after relieving himself when a man greeted him near the well of Jamal, but he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not return the greeting. Then he came to a wall, placed his hand on the wall, wiped his face and hands, and then returned the man's greeting.
This narration is a supporting witness for the narration of Muhammad bin Thabit al-Abdi, except that he preserved the mention of the forearms in it, which no one else established. He and Ibn al-Had both related the hadith mentioning his (peace and blessings be upon him) tayammum and then his returning the greeting, even though al-Dahhak bin Uthman abridged it; and Ibn Umar's own practice of tayammum on the face and the forearms up to the elbows is a witness to the soundness of Muhammad bin Thabit's narration, not contradicting it. Yahya bin Ma'in said about Muhammad bin Thabit al-Abdi: "Laysa bihi ba's" (There is no harm in him). In this hadith he does not deserve to be rejected, for the reasons I have mentioned; a group of imams narrated it from him, such as Yahya bin Yahya, Mu'alla bin Mansur, Sa'id bin Mansur and others, and Muslim bin Ibrahim praised him and narrated it from him; and from Ibn Umar it is well known.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الطهارة / 994