Hadith on spending a third of ones wealth on scent not being extravagant?

I have not seen a Hadith stating that even if you spend a third of your wealth on scent it is not extravagant (Israaf), in any authentic source. One must refrain from narrating it until it is properly sourced and authenticated.

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: كَفَى بِالْمَرْءِ كَذِبًا أَنْ يُحَدِّثَ بِكُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ

(Sayidina) Abu Hurairah (May Allah Most High be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘It is enough of a lie for a person to narrate everything that he hears.’ (Sahih Muslim, Chapter 3, Prohibition of narrating everything one hears).

In the Hadith above the Holy Prophet ﷺ emphasises the importance of not simply repeating everything one hears. Rather one must verify. This is even more important when the narration one is disseminating is attributed to Allah (Most High) or His Messenger ﷺ.

In reality, we should not have to remind Muslims to be careful with Hadith narrations. Rather our love for our beautiful Prophet ﷺ should be sufficient to make us incredibly protective regarding anything attributed to him ﷺ. Strangely, we often find those who speak most about the love of the Prophet ﷺ demonstrate the least care regarding the authenticity of what they are attributing to the beloved Prophet ﷺ.

Despite thorough research I did not find a Hadith stating that even if you spend a third of your wealth on scent it is not extravagant (Israaf), in any authentic source. This does not give me or anyone else the right to deny the existence of such a Hadith. However, it does further emphasise the need for people to follow the principles of Hadith science correctly, and reference and authenticate Hadith before attributing them to the Holy Prophet ﷺ. Until this is satisfactorily done, people must desist from narrating this statement as a Prophetic Hadith.

It is important for people who narrate a Hadith to have some idea of its authenticity. Some people are in the Habit of regularly narrating a Hadith stating that even if you spend a third of your wealth on scent it is not extravagant (Israaf) but have no idea regarding the source or authenticity. This is a clear error and explained by Imam Nawawi in Sharh Sahih Muslim:

قَالَ الْعُلَمَاءُ يَنْبَغِي لِمَنْ أَرَادَ رِوَايَةِ حَدِيثٍ أَوْ ذَكَرَهُ أَنْ يَنْظُرَ فَإِنْ كَانَ صَحِيحًا أَوْ حَسَنًا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَذَا أَوْ فَعَلَهُ أَوْ نَحْوَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ صِيَغِ الْجَزْمِ وَإِنْ كَانَ ضَعِيفًا فَلَا يَقُلْ قَالَ أَوْ فَعَلَ أَوْ أَمَرَ أَوْ نَهَى وَشِبْهَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ صِيَغِ الْجَزْمِ بَلْ يَقُولُ رُوِيَ عَنْهُ كَذَا أَوْ جَاءَ عَنْهُ كَذَا أَوْ يُرْوَى أَوْ يُذْكَرُ أَوْ يُحْكَى أَوْ يقال أوبلغنا وَمَا أَشْبَهَهُ وَاللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ أَعْلَمُ

“The ulema have said that a person who wants to narrate a Hadith or mention a Hadith must look into it. If it is Sahih or Hasan, then he narrates it by saying the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said such and such or done such and such or the like of it using words of certainty. And if the hadith is weak, then he is not to say (the Prophet ﷺ) said or done or commanded or prohibited or the like of that using words of certainty, rather he is to say it has been narrated regarding (the Prophet ﷺ) or it has been mentioned regarding (the Prophet ﷺ) or it is narrated or it is mentioned or it is said or it has reached us or the like of it. And Allah (Most High) knows best.”  (Imam Nawawi, Sharh Muslim, Vol. 1, pg. 71).

In the Nass (text) above, Imam al-Nawawi mentions the well-established principle that the onus of referencing Hadith and proving its validity is upon the person narrating it. Many people are unaware of this principle and some ignorant people respond to questions regarding Hadith they narrate by putting the onus on the questioner to prove that it is not a sound Hadith. They do not realise that this contradicts the way of the Sahabah (May Allah Most High be pleased with them), who used to ask people to prove anything they said about the Deen.

بِكُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ: يَعْنِي: لَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِلْمَرْءِ كَذِبٌ إِلَّا تَحْدِيثُهُ بِكُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ مِنْ غَيْرِ تَيَقُّنٍ أَنَّهُ صِدْقٌ أَمْ كَذِبٌ، لَكَفَاهُ مِنَ الْكَذِبِ أَنْ لَا يَكُونَ بَرِيئًا مِنْهُ، وَهَذَا زَجْرٌ عَنِ التَّحْدِيثِ بِشَيْءٍ لَمْ يُعْلَمْ صِدْقُهُ، بَلْ عَلَى الرَّجُلِ أَنْ يَبْحَثَ فِي كُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ خُصُوصًا فِي أَحَادِيثِ النَّبِيِّ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

“If a person told no lie other than narrating everything he hears without verifying whether it is true or false then that is sufficient a lie for him to be guilty of it (of lying). This is a warning against narrating something that is not known to be true, rather it is incumbent upon a person to research what he hears, especially regarding hadith of the Prophet ﷺ.” (Imam Ali al-Qari, Mirqaat al-Mafaateeh, Vol. 1, pg. 240).

Imam Ali al-Qari further emphasises the fact that the onus is upon the one narrating Hadith and he clarifies that this is an obligation. The same rules regarding referencing and authenticating Hadith narrations also apply to statements of the Sahabah (Mowqoof Hadith). Although Hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) are far more authoritative, the statements of the Sahabah are highly regarded and do carry significant authority.

Another problem is that people who are supposed to be learned do not actually know how to correctly reference Hadith. They will often reference a narration to a contemporary or recent scholar, or a secondary book of Hadith. The correct way to reference Hadith should be abundantly clear for anyone who is familiar with the methodology of Ahl al-Sunnah regarding Hadith. Imam Al-Bayhaqi explained the importance of going back to the original books of Hadith.

وَذُكِرَ عَنْ الْحَافِظِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ الْبَيْهَقِيّ أَنَّ الْأَحَادِيثَ الَّتِي قَدْ صَحَّتْ أَوْ وَقَعَتْ بَيْنَ الصِّحَّةِ وَالسَّقَمِ قَدْ دُوِّنَتْ وَكُتِبَتْ فِي الْجَوَامِعِ الَّتِي جَمَعَهَا أَئِمَّةُ الْحَدِيثِ وَلَا يَجُوزُ أَنْ يَذْهَبَ شَيْءٌ مِنْهَا عَلَى جَمِيعِهِمْ وَإِنْ جَازَ أَنْ يَذْهَبَ عَلَى بَعْضِهِمْ لِضَمَانِ صَاحِبِ الشَّرِيعَةِ حِفْظَهَا فَمَنْ جَاءَ الْيَوْمَ بِحَدِيثٍ لَا يُوجَدُ عِنْدَ جَمِيعِهِمْ لَمْ يُقْبَلْ مِنْهُ

It is reported that Imam al-Bayhaqi said, “The Hadith that have been considered authentic (Sahih) or between authentic and weak have indeed been recorded in the major books of Hadith. The imams of Hadith have collected them so it is not possible for a Hadith to be missing from all of them. It is possible that some of the imams missed out certain Hadith but for all of them to miss out a (sound) Hadith is not possible because the One who revealed the Sharia (Allah, Most High) has taken it upon Himself to preserve the sharia. For this reason, if somebody brings a Hadith today which is not present in any of those recognised books, it is not going to be accepted.” (Imam Ala al-Din al-Bukhari, Kashf al-Asraar Sharh Usool al-Bazdawi, Vol. 3, p49).

As we see above, people have moved far away from the methodology of Ahl Sunnah when it comes to sourcing and authenticating Hadith. It is important for us all to recognise that the onus is upon people narrating Hadith to reference them correctly. If they do not do so, then it should be requested of them. A failure to adhere to such practices has resulted in many dubious Hadith narrations spreading in the community.

And Allah Most High Knows Best.

-Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (15.03.2022)

Comment from Shaykh Mujeer al-Khateeb:

لا اصل لهذا ولم اجد له اسنادا. لذلك لا يجوز نسبته الى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم. ومن ادعى انه حديث وجب عليه نسبته الى مصدره والا لا يجوز له ذكره ونشره. والله اعلم

It is baseless, which is why I did not find a Sanad (chain of narration) for it. Therefore, it is not permitted to attribute it to the Prophet ﷺ. Whoever claims that it is a Hadith is obliged to reference it to its source, otherwise he is not permitted to mention it or spread it. And Allah Most High knows best.

See also:
Narrating Hadith Without Reference
Referencing Hadith Correctly

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