Muwatta Malik 605
موطأ مالك#605SahihThese are the words of a Companion, not of the Prophet ﷺ. The chain is graded on its own terms.
حَدَّثَنِي يَحْيَى، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، أَنَّهُ بَلَغَهُ أَنَّ أَبَا بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقَ، قَالَ لَوْ مَنَعُونِي عِقَالاً لَجَاهَدْتُهُمْ عَلَيْهِ .
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abu Bakr as-Siddiq said, "If they withhold even a hobbling cord I will fight them over it
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:
Salim al-HilaliMauquf Sahih
In-book reference: 17:28