I don't think (hard)jhana is needed to attain nibbana

and this passage from “A Study of Sukkhavipassaka in Pāli Buddhism” by Tzungkuen Wen (p. 200)

The Susīma Sutta of Saṃyutta-nikāya (SN 12:70) has sometimes been viewed as evidence for the existence of wisdom-liberated arahants who do not obtain any form-sphere jhāna. However, some scholars have highlighted that the Pāli commentary rather than the Susīma sutta proper supports the existence of such arahants since the sutta confirms only that one can attain arahantship without the five mundane super knowledges (abhiññās) and four formless jhānas; no reference is given to the form-sphere jhānas. Nevertheless, the Sarvāstivāda’s version of the Susīma Sutta clearly documents the arahants who lack form-sphere jhānas, and thus it corresponds to the Pāli commentarial explanations on the Susīma Sutta given by Buddhaghosa.

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