Sunan Abi Dawud 3963
سنن أبي داود#3963Sahihحَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مُوسَى، أَخْبَرَنَا جَرِيرٌ، عَنْ سُهَيْلِ بْنِ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " وَلَدُ الزِّنَا شَرُّ الثَّلاَثَةِ " . وَقَالَ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ لأَنْ أُمَتِّعَ بِسَوْطٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَحَبُّ إِلَىَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَعْتِقَ وَلَدَ زِنْيَةٍ .
Narrated AbuHurayrah: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The child of adultery is worst of the three. Abu Hurairah said: That I give a flog in the path of Allah (as a charity) is dearer to me than emancipating a child of adultery
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave, each scholar counted once — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. When they judged only its chain of narrators (“Isnaad”), the label says “Sound chain”. Each scholar's own wording:
Our source also lists this ruling under Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid, the editor of the printed edition it was taken from. It is al-Albani's ruling printed again, so it is counted once.
In-book reference: 31:38