Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. It was also said: from Yahya, from Abu Salamah, from his father. The hadith is well-known as a mursal report.”
I say: He then cited it through Ma‘mar, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, who related: “There are three traits such that whoever possesses them will see their evil consequences before his death”—and he mentioned them, the last of them being—“and a wicked oath leaves homes desolate.” I say: This has a continuous chain and is authentic.
It was then narrated through Abu al-‘Ala’, from Makḥul, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “The good deed whose reward comes most swiftly is maintaining ties of kinship, and the evil deed whose punishment comes most swiftly is transgression; and a wicked binding oath leaves homes desolate.” I say: This is a mursal report with an authentic chain of transmission.
Al-Quda‘i provided a connected chain for the version of ‘Ali ibn Zabyan in Musnad al-Shihab (16/1). Al-Khara’iti provided a connected chain for Yahya ibn Abi Kathir’s version from Abu Salamah, from his father, in Makarim al-Akhlaq (p. 45), through Ibn ‘Ulathah, from Hisham ibn Hassan, from him, attributed to the Prophet, with the wording: “The act of obedience whose reward comes most swiftly is maintaining ties of kinship, so much so that a household may be wicked, yet their wealth increases and their numbers multiply when they maintain their ties of kinship.”
Ibn ‘Ulathah is truthful but makes mistakes, as stated in al-Taqrib. Yet it appears that he was not alone in narrating it, for al-Mundhiri said in al-Targhib (3/47), after citing it with the wording, “A wicked oath causes wealth to disappear,” or, “causes wealth to vanish”: “Al-Bazzar narrated it, and its chain is authentic, provided that Abu Salamah’s hearing from his father, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf, is established.” Something similar appears in al-Majma‘ (4/179).
The hadith also has another, more complete route from Abu Hurayrah, attributed to the Prophet, with the wording: