Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Book 14, Hadith 293
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلاَمٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ شَقِيقٍ، عَنْ أَبِي مَسْعُودٍ الأَنْصَارِيِّ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: حُوسِبَ رَجُلٌ مِمَّنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ، فَلَمْ يُوجَدْ لَهُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ إِلاَّ أَنَّهُ كَانَ رَجُلاً يُخَالِطُ النَّاسَ وَكَانَ مُوسِرًا، فَكَانَ يَأْمُرُ غِلْمَانَهُ أَنْ يَتَجَاوَزُوا عَنِ الْمُعْسِرِ، قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: فَنَحْنُ أَحَقُّ بِذَلِكَ مِنْهُ، فَتَجَاوَزَ عَنْهُ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Salam narrated to us: Abu Mu‘awiya informed us, from al-A‘mash, from Shaqiq, from Abu Mas‘ud al-Ansari, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘A man from among those before you was called to account. Nothing good was found for him except that he was a man who dealt with people and had means; he used to tell his servants to grant respite to a debtor in hardship. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said, “We have more right than he to do that,” and He forgave him.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says he mixed or dealt with people and was well-off; the English witness expands this as being easy in business dealings. The debtors are described as insolvent or in difficulty.