“This is a singular hadith. Some have narrated this hadith from Yunus, from Sa‘id al-Maqburi, from Abu Hurayrah.”

I say: Al-Hakim gave its connected chain of transmission (2/56) through Ishaq ibn Ahmad al-Khazzaz of Rayy, who said: Ishaq ibn Sulayman al-Razi related to us; Mughīrah ibn Muslim related to us; from Yunus ibn ‘Ubayd; from Sa‘id al-Maqburi—with the same wording. He said: “Its chain of transmission is authentic.” Al-Dhahabi agreed with him.

I say: It is as they both said, were it not that I do not know this al-Khazzaz. However, he is not alone in reporting it. Al-Manawi said in al-Fayd: “Al-Tirmidhi said in al-‘Ilal: ‘I asked Muhammad—meaning al-Bukhari?—about it, and he said: It is a hadith in error. Ibn Ulayyah narrated it from Yunus, from Sa‘id al-Maqburi, from Abu Hurayrah. He said: I used to be pleased with it, until some people narrated it from Yunus, from someone who reported to him, from Sa‘id, from Abu Hurayrah.’ This is what he said.”

I say: This unnamed person is unknown to me, so his contradiction of Ibn Ulayyah’s report does not impair it. Ibn Ulayyah’s report accords with Mughīrah ibn Muslim’s report, transmitted through al-Khazzaz from him; and their agreement upon this version makes it weightier than Abu Kurayb’s report from Ishaq ibn Sulayman, from Mughīrah, from Yunus, from al-Hasan, from Abu Hurayrah. Otherwise, al-Hasan’s narration from Abu Hurayrah is considered interrupted, unlike Sa‘id al-Maqburi’s narration from Abu Hurayrah, which has a continuous chain. Accordingly, the hadith has an authentic chain of transmission. And Allah knows best.

Al-Bayhaqi also reported it in al-Shu‘ab from Abu Hurayrah, attributed to the Prophet, with the wording: “Allah Most High loves a servant who is accommodating when he sells, accommodating when he buys, accommodating when he pays what he owes, and accommodating when he claims what is due to him.” However, its chain of transmission is very weak, for it contains several defects, the most serious of which is al-Waqidi, who was accused of lying. For the remaining defects, consult Fayḍ al-Qadir if you wish.