Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 423
حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مُوسَى، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا الْعَلاَءُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: الْمُسْتَبَّانِ مَا قَالاَ فَعَلَى الْبَادِئِ، مَا لَمْ يَعْتَدِ الْمَظْلُومُ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibrahim ibn Musa narrated to us: Isma‘il ibn Ja‘far narrated to us: al-‘Ala’ ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman narrated to us from his father, from Abu Hurayra, from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said: When two people revile one another, what they say is borne by the one who began, so long as the wronged person does not exceed the bounds.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source says the first person bears responsibility for what both say, unless the person wronged exceeds the bounds.