وَحَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ النَّضْرَ يَقُولُ: سُئِلَ ابْنُ عَوْنٍ عَنْ حَدِيثٍ لِشَهْرٍ وَهُوَ قَائِمٌ عَلَى أُسْكُفَّةِ الْبَابِ، فَقَالَ: إِنَّ شَهْرًا نَزَكُوهُ، إِنَّ شَهْرًا نَزَكُوهُ. قَالَ مُسْلِمٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: يَقُولُ أَخَذَتْهُ أَلْسِنَةُ النَّاسِ، تَكَلَّمُوا فِيهِ.
Translation: ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Saʿīd narrated to us: “I heard al-Naḍr say: Ibn ʿAwn was asked about a hadith of Shahr while he was standing on the threshold of a doorway. He replied twice, ‘People have attacked Shahr with criticism; people have attacked Shahr with criticism.’” Muslim, may God have mercy on him, explained: He meant that people’s tongues had been directed against him; they had spoken critically about him.
Uskuffat al-bāb is the threshold; nazakūhu records that criticism was voiced. The expression attests the existence of criticism, not automatically one unanimous final grade. The reasons and other critics’ judgments still matter.