or a cow that is mooing, or a sheep that is bleating.” He then raised his hands until we could see the whiteness of his armpits, and said, “O Allah, have I conveyed the message?” (1)
Qays ibn Abi Hazim narrated from Mu'adh ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent me to Yemen and said, “Do not take anything without my permission, for that is misappropriation; and whoever misappropriates anything shall bring what he misappropriated on the Day of Resurrection.” (2)
It is narrated from Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “If you find that a man has misappropriated something, burn his belongings and beat him.” (3)
It is narrated from Amr ibn Shu'ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, may Allah be pleased with him, that “the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, Abu Bakr, and Umar burned the belongings of one who had misappropriated something and beat him.” (4)
Allah Most High says: “And whoever misappropriates anything shall bring what he misappropriated on the Day of Resurrection. Then every soul will be paid in full for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged.”
“Is one who pursues Allah’s pleasure like one who incurs the wrath of Allah, whose refuge is Hell? What an evil destination! (162) They occupy differing ranks before Allah, and Allah sees all that they do. (163)”
“Is one who pursues Allah’s pleasure”—and refrains from misappropriation—“like one who incurs the wrath of Allah” by committing it? “His refuge is Hell, and what an evil destination!”
(1) Narrated by al-Bukhari in Kitab al-Hibah (The Book of Gifts), chapter: “One Who Does Not Accept a Gift for a Valid Reason,” 5:220; and also in the Books of Friday Prayer, Legal Stratagems, Zakat, and Oaths and Vows. Muslim narrated it in Kitab al-Imarah (The Book of Governance), chapter: “The Prohibition of Gifts Given to Officials,” no. 1832, 4:1463-1464. Also cited by the author in Sharh al-Sunnah, 5:496-497.
(2) Narrated by al-Tirmidhi in Kitab al-Ahkam (The Book of Legal Rulings), chapter: “What Has Been Reported Regarding Gifts to Rulers,” 4:564. He said: “The hadith of Muadh is a solitary report (gharib); we know it only through this chain, from Abu Usamah from Dawud al-Awdi.” Dawud ibn Yazid al-Awdi is weak. See al-Taqrib, 1:235.
(3) Narrated by Abu Dawud in Kitab al-Jihad (The Book of Jihad), chapter: “The Punishment of One Who Commits Ghulul (Misappropriation of War Booty),” 4:39-40; and by al-Tirmidhi in Kitab al-Hudud (The Book of Prescribed Punishments), chapter: “What Is to Be Done with One Who Commits Ghulul,” 5:29. Al-Tirmidhi said: “This hadith is a solitary report; we know it only through this chain. I asked Muhammad about it, and he said: ‘It was narrated only by Salih ibn Muhammad ibn Zaidah, who is Abu Waqid al-Laythi, and he is objectionable in hadith.’” Muhammad further said: “More than one hadith has been narrated from the Prophet concerning one who commits ghulul, but he did not order that his possessions be burned.”
It was also narrated by al-Darimi in Kitab al-Siyar (The Book of Military Expeditions), chapter: “The Punishment of One Who Commits Ghulul,” 2:231, with the wording: “Whomever you find to have committed ghulul, beat him and burn his possessions.” Al-Hakim authenticated it in al-Mustadrak, 2:128, and al-Dhahabi concurred, saying: “Authentic.” It was also narrated by Said ibn Mansur in al-Sunan, 2:269.
Al-Mundhiri said in Tahdhib al-Sunan, 4:40: “Salih ibn Muhammad ibn Zaidah was criticized by more than one imam, and it has been said that he alone narrated it. Al-Bukhari said: ‘Most of our companions cite this as evidence concerning ghulul, but this is invalid and without worth.’ Al-Daraqutni said: ‘They rejected this hadith as narrated by Salih ibn Muhammad. It is a hadith for which he has no corroborating narrator, and there is no basis for it from the Messenger of Allah. What is established is that Salim ordered this,’ and Abu Dawud authenticated it as a Companion statement.”
(4) Narrated by Abu Dawud in Kitab al-Jihad, chapter: “The Punishment of One Who Commits Ghulul,” 4:41. He said: “Ali ibn Bahr added, from al-Walid - though I did not hear it from him -: ‘And deprive him of his share.’” Ibn al-Qayyim said: “The defect in this hadith is that it is narrated by Zuhayr ibn Muhammad from Amr ibn Shuayb. This Zuhayr is weak.” Al-Bayhaqi said: “It is said that this Zuhayr is unknown and is not the Makkan narrator; it has also been narrated in mursal form.”
Al-Hakim also narrated it in al-Mustadrak, 2:131, and said: “A rare, authentic hadith which the two Shaykhs did not record.” Al-Dhahabi said likewise. Al-Shawkani said: “It was also narrated by al-Hakim and al-Bayhaqi. Its chain contains Zuhayr ibn Muhammad, the Khurasani who resided in Makkah. Al-Bayhaqi said that he may have been someone else and that he was unknown. Abu Dawud also narrated it through another route from Zuhayr as a Companion statement. Al-Fath holds this to be the stronger view.” See Nayl al-Awtar, 9:226.