Sunan Abu Dawud, hadith 1648

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ وَهُوَ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ وَهُوَ يَذْكُرُ الصَّدَقَةَ وَالتَّعَفُّفَ مِنْهَا وَالْمَسْأَلَةَ ‏"‏ الْيَدُ الْعُلْيَا خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْيَدِ السُّفْلَى وَالْيَدُ الْعُلْيَا الْمُنْفِقَةُ وَالسُّفْلَى السَّائِلَةُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ اخْتُلِفَ عَلَى أَيُّوبَ عَنْ نَافِعٍ فِي هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ قَالَ عَبْدُ الْوَارِثِ ‏"‏ الْيَدُ الْعُلْيَا الْمُتَعَفِّفَةُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ وَقَالَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ عَنْ أَيُّوبَ ‏"‏ الْيَدُ الْعُلْيَا الْمُنْفِقَةُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ وَقَالَ وَاحِدٌ عَنْ حَمَّادٍ ‏"‏ الْمُتَعَفِّفَةُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Abd Allah b. ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) said when he was on the pulpit speaking of sadaqah and abstention from it and begging :the upper hand is better than the lower one, the upper being the one which bestows and the lower which begs. Abu Dawud said : The version of this tradition narrated by Ayyub from Nafi is disputed. The narrator `Abd al-Warith said in his version : `The upper hand is the one which abstains from begging;” but most of the narrators have narrated from Hammad b. Zaid from Ayyub the words “ The upper hand is the one which bestows.” A narrator from Hammad said in his version “the one which abstains from begging.”