754 – Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Allah the Exalted said, ‘I am the third of two partners as long as neither of them betrays the other; but once one of them cheats, I withdraw from between them.’” Related by Abu Dawud, and al-Hakim declared it authentic. (1)

Hadith grading: The hadith is ḥasan (sound).
It was transmitted by Abu Dawud, al-Daraqutni, al-Hakim, and al-Bayhaqi through the chain of Muhammad ibn al-Zubaraqan, from Abu Hibban al-Tamimi, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah.
Al-Hakim said, “Its chain is ṣaḥīḥ,” and al-Dhahabi concurred; al-Mundhiri likewise endorsed this judgment in al-Targhīb wa’l-Tarhīb.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Hadi said, “It has been described as munkar (irregular).”
Ibn al-Qattān criticized it because the condition of Saʿid ibn Hibban is unknown, although Ibn Hibban listed him among the trustworthy.
Al-Tahanawi, in Iʿlāʾ al-Sunan, wrote: “Ibn al-Zubaraqan connected the chain; he is a narrator accepted by all of the Six Books except al-Tirmidhi and is reliable (ṣadūq). His additional link is acceptable, so the defect is removed and the hadith is suitable for evidence.”
Al-Albani judged the chain weak, noting two flaws: first, the unknown status of the father of Abu Hibban al-Taymi; al-Dhahabi said in al-Mīzān, “He is scarcely known.”