501 – ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, narrating from his father, from his grandfather ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr (may Allah be pleased with him), reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever becomes the guardian of an orphan who possesses wealth, let him invest that wealth for the child and do not leave it idle until zakah consumes it.” Related by al-Tirmidhī and al-Dāraquṭnī; its chain of transmission is weak (1), though al-Shāfiʿī recorded a corroborating mursal report (2).

Status of the ḥadīth
The ḥadīth is weak. When Imām Aḥmad was asked about it, he replied, “It is not sound.” Al-Tirmidhī noted, “Its isnād is questionable, for al-Muthannā ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ is weak in ḥadīth.” It is also supported by the narration of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, recorded by al-Dāraquṭnī; by that of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī al-Ifrīqī, recorded by al-Jurjānī—he is weak; and by that of Abū Isḥāq al-Shaybānī, who is trustworthy, yet the one who narrates from him is Mundil, and he is likewise weak. Taken through all of these routes, the ḥadīth remains weak.

There is, however, a supporting narration from ʿUmar, halted at him (mawqūf), which al-Bayhaqī deemed authentic.

Vocabulary
• “Whoever becomes the guardian of an orphan”: to assume guardianship (walāyah) over a minor. The guardian is called wālī (pl. wulāt); the child under guardianship is termed mawlā ʿalayh.
• “Orphan” (yatīm): a child whose father has died before the child reaches puberty; plurals are yatāmā and aytām. A female orphan is yatīmah (pl. yatāmā). If only the mother has died, the child is called ʿajī; if both parents have died, the child is termed laṭīm.