Sunan Abi Dawud 4888
سنن أبي داود#4888Sahihحَدَّثَنَا عِيسَى بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الرَّمْلِيُّ، وَابْنُ، عَوْفٍ - وَهَذَا لَفْظُهُ - قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا الْفِرْيَابِيُّ، عَنْ سُفْيَانَ، عَنْ ثَوْرٍ، عَنْ رَاشِدِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " إِنَّكَ إِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ عَوْرَاتِ النَّاسِ أَفْسَدْتَهُمْ أَوْ كِدْتَ أَنْ تُفْسِدَهُمْ " . فَقَالَ أَبُو الدَّرْدَاءِ كَلِمَةٌ سَمِعَهَا مُعَاوِيَةُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَفَعَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهَا .
Narrated Mu'awiyah: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: If you search for the faults of the people, you will corrupt them, or will nearly corrupt them. AbudDarda' said: These are the words which Mu'awiyah himself from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and Allah benefited him by them
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — 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. Each scholar's own wording:
In-book reference: 43:116