Muwatta Malik 764
موطأ مالك#764SahihThese are the words of a Companion, not of the Prophet ﷺ. The chain is graded on its own terms.
وَحَدَّثَنِي عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ صَدَقَةَ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ، أَنَّهُ قَالَ وَاللَّهِ لأَنْ أَعْتَمِرَ قَبْلَ الْحَجِّ وَأُهْدِيَ أَحَبُّ إِلَىَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَعْتَمِرَ بَعْدَ الْحَجِّ فِي ذِي الْحِجَّةِ .
Yahya related to me from Malik, from Sadaqa ibn Yasar, that Abdullah ibn Umar said, "By Allah, I would rather do umra before hajj and sacrifice an animal than do umra after hajj in the month of Dhu'l-Hijja
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: 20:60