the second is the disagreement over whether the report is connected; Ibn al-Zubaraqan narrated it with a continuous chain.
In sum, the ḥadīth has a weak isnād because of the divergence over its connected or mursal form and because its narrator is unknown; if it escapes the first defect, it does not escape the second. End of quotation.
Glossary of the ḥadīth
– “I am the third of the two partners”: meaning that I am with them, protecting and caring for them by sending blessing into their trade and their work. If treachery occurs, the blessing, assistance, and care are withdrawn.
– “Cheated” (khāna): to betray—to be entrusted and yet fail to give sincere counsel. Treachery is the opposite of trustworthiness and may relate to matters other than money; the traitor is one who betrays whatever he was appointed to safeguard. Al-Kulliyyāt says that treachery is spoken of with reference to covenants and trusts.
Lessons drawn from the ḥadīth
- The ḥadīth indicates the permissibility of all kinds of partnerships in any field and under any contract. All companies—whether capital partnerships, labor partnerships, reputation partnerships, joint-stock, limited-liability, general partnerships, or others—are in principle lawful unless prevented by a specific Sharʿī obstacle.
- It encourages entering into partnership contracts, for they attract the blessing of Allah Most High; through His aid, guidance, and facilitation He is with the two partners or the group of partners, for “Allah is in the servant’s aid so long as the servant is in his brother’s aid.” A partnership embodies cooperation among the partners, rotation of tasks, consultation, and deliberation over matters that benefit the company and their work within it. Out of His mercy, Allah has permitted and sanctioned it and becomes the Helper and Granter of success to its owners.
- All of this holds so long as no betrayal enters into it and no fraud is committed by one partner against another; when that happens, Allah the Exalted leaves them without support or facilitation, and so it descends upon them