719 – Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever intercedes for his brother and, in return, is offered a gift which he then accepts, has approached a great gate among the gates of riba.” Reported by Ahmad and Abu Dawud, and its chain of transmission has been questioned (1).

Degree of authenticity:
Its chain contains some weakness, yet it is still cited as evidence. It was transmitted by al-Qasim ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Shami, the client of Banu Umayyah, from Abu Umamah, and there is discussion concerning him. Al-Mundhiri said: Imam Ahmad remarked, “ʿAli ibn Zayd narrates astonishing things from him, and I think they originate with al-Qasim.” Ibn Hibban said: “He would report problematic narrations from the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ.” Ibn Maʿin declared him reliable, al-Tirmidhi authenticated his hadith, and al-Hafiz in Taqrib al-Tahdhib wrote: “Trustworthy, but often relates uncommon reports.” Abu Dawud remained silent about the hadith.

Vocabulary of the hadith:
• “Intercedes for him” (shafaʿa): to mediate for him and lend assistance.
• “Gate” (bab): originally from bawwaba; the final alif is a transformed waw. Its plurals are abwab and biban. Literally it denotes an entrance; by extension, anything that serves as a means of access. Here it means a means of unlawfully consuming wealth.
• “Riba”: its final alif derives from a waw. Linguistically it means increase; one says raba yarbu, “it increased,” as in the Almighty’s words: “And when We send down water upon it, it quivers and swells” (Q 22:5). In the legal sense it is a forbidden surplus in specific types of wealth.