Chapter on Its Conditions and the Matters Prohibited

660 – Rifāʿah ibn Rāfiʿ (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked, “Which form of earning is the purest?” He replied, “A man’s work with his own hand, and every sale conducted with integrity.” Narrated by al-Bazzār and declared authentic by al-Ḥākim. (1)

Hadith grading
The hadith is ṣaḥīḥ on account of its multiple chains.
• The author states: al-Bazzār narrated it and al-Ḥākim authenticated it.
• Al-Talḵīṣ records that it was transmitted by al-Ḥākim and al-Ṭabarānī, while al-Bukhārī, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, and al-Bayhaqī considered it mursal from Saʿīd ibn ʿUmayr.
• On this topic there are also reports from ʿAlī and Ibn ʿUmar. Ibn Abī Ḥātim mentioned both; al-Ṭabarānī, in al-Awsaṭ, produced the narration of Ibn ʿUmar, and its transmitters are unobjectionable.
• Bulūgh al-Amānī states: It was related by Imām Aḥmad, cited by al-Suyūṭī in al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr, and transmitted by al-Bayhaqī in mursal form; al-Bayhaqī remarked, “This is the preserved wording—Allah knows best.”
• Al-Haythamī says in Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid, after citing several chains: concerning al-Ṭabarānī’s chain, its narrators are trustworthy; concerning Aḥmad’s chain, its narrators are likewise trustworthy.

Vocabulary of the hadith
– al-kasb (earning): the verb kasaba may be transitive on its own, or—when a hamzah is prefixed—may take a second object. One may therefore say: aksabtu Zaydan mālan (“I caused Zayd to earn money”).