Muwatta Malik 1609
موطأ مالك#1609Sahihوَحَدَّثَنِي مَالِكٌ، عَنْ يُونُسَ بْنِ يُوسُفَ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، عَنْ أَبِي أَيُّوبَ الأَنْصَارِيِّ، أَنَّهُ وَجَدَ غِلْمَانًا قَدْ أَلْجَئُوا ثَعْلَبًا إِلَى زَاوِيَةٍ فَطَرَدَهُمْ عَنْهُ . قَالَ مَالِكٌ لاَ أَعْلَمُ إِلاَّ أَنَّهُ قَالَ أَفِي حَرَمِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُصْنَعُ هَذَا
Malik related to me from Yunus ibn Yusuf from Ata ibn Yasar that Abu Ayyub al-Ansari found some boys who had driven a fox into a corner, and he chased them away from it. Malik said, "I only know that he said, 'Is this done in the Haram of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace?
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: 45:12