Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Book 55, Hadith 8
حَدَّثَنَا يُوسُفُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ أَخُو عُبَيْدٍ الْقُرَشِيِّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، عَنْ أَبِي وَائِلٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ قَالَ: مَا يَزَالُ الْمَسْرُوقُ مِنْهُ يَتَظَنَّى حَتَّى يَصِيرَ أَعْظَمَ مِنَ السَّارِقِ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Yusuf ibn Ya‘qub related to us: Yahya ibn Sa‘id, the brother of ‘Ubayd al-Qurashi, related to us: al-A‘mash related to us, from Abu Wa’il, from ‘Abd Allah, who said: ‘The person who has been robbed keeps growing suspicious until he becomes worse than the thief.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final comparison is translated directly; the saying warns that a victim’s suspicion can grow excessive.