and all the more so are they likely to be ignorant of the limits laid down by the Book and the Sunnah.
By “limits” we mean the precise definitions of the names that appear in what God has revealed of the Book and the Wisdom—such as the limits of prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage; and such as the believer, the unbeliever, the fornicator, the thief, the drinker, and the like—so that one can distinguish who truly deserves a given legal designation from one who does not, and so that the rulings attaching to those designations may be applied to those who merit them.
For this reason Abū Dāwūd and others narrated, through the transmission of al-Thawrī: “Abū Mūsā told me, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, from Ibn ʿAbbās—may God be pleased with them both—from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).” Sufyān (al-Thawrī) once said, “I do not know it except as coming from the Prophet (peace be upon him).” He said:
“Whoever settles in the desert becomes coarse; whoever follows the chase grows heedless; and whoever keeps company with the ruler falls into temptation.”
Abū Dāwūd also related it through Ḥasan ibn Ḥakam al-Nakhaʿī on the authority of
(1) In manuscript (Aṭ) the phrase reads: fima anzalah Allah (regarding what Allah has revealed).
(2) The narrator in question is Sufyan; his biography has already been given. See the Index of Proper Names and Sunan Abi Dawud 3/278.
(3) Taqrib al-Tahdhib says: “Abu Musa, who reports from Wahb ibn Munabbih, is majhul (an unknown narrator) of the sixth generation; the claim that he is Israil ibn Musa is mistaken.” Tahdhib al-Tahdhib adds: “A Yemeni shaykh who transmitted from Wahb ibn Munabbih—through Ibn Abbas—the hadith ‘man ittabaʿa al-sayd ghafal’ (whoever pursues game becomes heedless), and from Sufyan al-Thawri; he is unknown, as stated by Ibn al-Qattan.” See: Taqrib al-Tahdhib 2/479, no. 167, s.v. “kunya”; and Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 12/252, no. 1161, s.v. “kunya.”
(4) Compare Sunan Abi Dawud, Book of Hunting, chapter “Following Game,” no. 2859 (3/278); al-Tirmidhi, Book of Tribulations, chapter 69, no. 2256—who comments, “This is a hasan sahih gharib hadith from Ibn Abbas; we know it only through the isnad of al-Thawri” (4/524); and al-Nasaʾi, Book of Hunting and Slaughtering, chapter “Following Game” (7/195–196). It is also recorded by Ahmad (Musnad 1/3570) and cited by al-Suyuti in al-Jamiʿ al-Saghir, who grades it hasan (2/610, no. 8753).
(5) The narrator is al-Hasan ibn al-Hakam al-Nakhaʿi, Abu al-Hakam, of Kufah. Ibn Hajar writes in Taqrib: “Trustworthy but prone to error; sixth generation.” Ibn Maʿin declared him reliable, and Abu Hatim judged his hadith acceptable. Ibn Hajar records him in Tahdhib; he died in the mid-140s AH. See: Taqrib al-Tahdhib 1/165, no. 265ḥ; and Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 2/271, no. 490.