Muwatta Malik 314
موطأ مالك#314SahihThese are the words of a Companion, not of the Prophet ﷺ. The chain is graded on its own terms.
وَحَدَّثَنِي عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ دَاوُدَ بْنِ الْحُصَيْنِ، عَنِ ابْنِ يَرْبُوعٍ الْمَخْزُومِيِّ، أَنَّهُ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ زَيْدَ بْنَ ثَابِتٍ، يَقُولُ الصَّلاَةُ الْوُسْطَى صَلاَةُ الظُّهْرِ .
Yahya related to me from Malik from Da'ud ibn al-Husayn that Ibn Yarbu al-Makhzumi said, "I heard Zayd ibn Thabit say, 'The middle prayer is the prayer of dhuhr
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
Salim al-HilaliMauquf Sahih
In-book reference: 8:28