Sunan an-Nasa'i 1192
سنن النسائي#1192Sahihأَخْبَرَنَا سُوَيْدُ بْنُ نَصْرٍ، قَالَ أَنْبَأَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ، عَنِ الأَوْزَاعِيِّ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو سَلَمَةَ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي مُعَيْقِيبٌ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " إِنْ كُنْتَ لاَ بُدَّ فَاعِلاً فَمَرَّةً " .
Abu Salamah bin 'Abdur-Rahman said:"Mu'aiqib told me that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'If you have to do that, then do it only once
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:
Abu GhuddahSahih
Al-AlbaniSahih
Zubair Ali ZaiSahih - Agreed Upon
In-book reference: 13:14