Abu Dawud

Benefits and Issues:
This narration is weak in its chain of transmission, but there are other authentic narrations on this subject.
The meaning of (al-hubb fi Allah) and (al-bughdu fi Allah) is that even if there are many reasons to love someone, if that person is involved in corruption within the religion of Allah, then one should not love him for Allah’s sake; rather, love should be for those who walk in the path of Allah, and it should be solely for the purpose of seeking Allah’s pleasure. Similarly, enmity should be with those who deviate from Allah’s religion, and it should be for the sake of Allah’s pleasure.
It is also necessary that merely having aversion due to disobedience to Allah is not sufficient.
It is obligatory for the people of knowledge that they should never be negligent in calling to the truth.

Hadith Authentication: The chain of this narration is weak.
➊ Yazid bin Abi Ziyad al-Hashimi al-Kufi is a weak (narrator). See: [تقريب التهذيب 7717] and [سوالات البرقاني للدارقطني 561] and [تفسير ابن كثير 2؍98، 4؍116] and [مجمع الزوائد 5؍71] and [المحليٰ لابن حزم 7؍484]
◈ Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Busiri (d. 840H) said:
«وضعفه الجمهور» and the majority have declared him weak. [زوائد سنن ابن ماجه : 2116]
◈ Imam Yahya bin Ma'in said:
«ضعیف الحدیث» He is weak in hadith. [الكامل لابن عدي 7؍2729 والنسخة المحققة 9؍163 وسنده صحيح]
➋ Yazid bin Abi Ziyad is a mudallis. See: [طبقات المدلسين لابن حجر 112؍3] and [جامع التحصيل للعلائي ص 112] and [المدلسين لابي زرعة ابن العراقي 74] and [المدلسين للسيوطي 67]
This narration is from «عن», and there is no explicit statement of hearing (sama’).
If a mudallis narrator reports from «عن» in sources other than the two Sahihs, then the narration is weak. See: [شرح صحيح مسلم للنووي درسي نسخه ج 1 ص 31، 32 تحت ح 15]
➌ Yazid bin Abi Ziyad’s memory deteriorated in his later years; he suffered from confusion (ikhtilat). See: [سنن الدار قطني 1؍294 ح1118 و المجروحين لابن حبان 3؍100]
There is no evidence that Khalid bin Abdullah and Yazid bin Ata (who is weak in hadith) heard hadith from Yazid bin Abi Ziyad before his confusion, therefore this chain is also weak due to ikhtilat.
The narration of Yazid bin Ata (weak) from Yazid bin Abi Ziyad is found in Musnad Ahmad. See: [5؍146 ح 21303 بلفظ : «ان أحب الأعمال الي الله»]
➍ In this narration, the narrator «رجل» is unknown (majhul), therefore this chain is weak and rejected for four reasons.

Discussion and Authentication of Supporting Narrations (Shawahid):
➊ «ليث (بن أبى سليم) عن عمرو بن مرة عن معاوية بن سويد بن مقرن عن البراء بن عازب (عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال:) ”إن أوثق عرى الإيمان أن تحب فى الله، وتبغض فى الله“» [مسند أحمد 4؍286 ح 18524 ومسند الطيالسي : 747 وشعب الايمان للبيهقي : 14 والتمهيد لابن عبدالبر 17؍431]
◈ This chain is weak; Layth bin Abi Sulaym has been declared weak by the majority of (hadith scholars). See: [زوائد ابن ماجه للبوصيري 230 قال : وقد ضعفه الجمهور وهو مدلس]
◈ In Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah [11/41، 13/229] and Kitab al-Iman by Ibn Abi Shaybah [110], the intermediary of Mu'awiyah bin Suwayd is missing in the same chain; this chain is also weak due to Layth.
◈ In Shu'ab al-Iman [13], there is another weak chain narrated from Layth.
➋ In Kitab al-Zuhd by Imam Waki’ [2؍600 ح 329], there is a mursal narration, whose narrator Abu al-Yasa’ al-Makfuf is of unknown status. Even if this narrator were trustworthy, the chain would still be weak due to being mursal.
➌ From Mu'adh bin Jabal radi Allahu anhu, see: [مسند أحمد 4؍247]
↰ In this, Zaban bin Fa'id is weak. See: [تقريب التهذيب 1985]
➍ From Abdullah bin Abbas radi Allahu anhu [المعجم الكبير للطبراني 11؍215 ح 11537، شرح السنة للبغوي 13؍53، 54 ح 3468]
↰ Its chain is weak due to Hanash, i.e., Husayn bin Qays al-Rahbi. See: [تقريب التهذيب 1342 وقال : متروك]
➎ From Abdullah bin Mas'ud radi Allahu anhu [الحاكم فى المستدرك 2؍480 ح3790، والطيالسي فى مسنده : 378 والطبراني فى الكبير 10؍272 ح10531، والاوسط 5؍241 ح4476 والصغير 1؍324 ح612 وابن عبدالبر فى التمهيد 17؍430] «من طريق عقيل بن يحيىٰ الجعدي عن أبى إسحاق السبيعي عن سويد بن غفلة عن ابن مسعود به إلخ»
↰ Aqil al-Ja'di is munkar al-hadith. See: [كتاب الضعفاء للبخاري : 292 بتحقيقي]
↰ And Abu Ishaq al-Sabi'i was a mudallis. See: [طبقات المدلسين 3/91 و صحيح ابن حبان 61/1 نسخه محققه، المعجم الکبیر 211/10، 212 ح 10357] where there is another chain for this.
«حدثنا إسحاق بن إبراهيم أبى حسان الأنماطي : ثنا هشام بن عمار : ثتا الوليد بن مسلم : حدثني بكير بن معروف عن مقاتل بن حيان عن القاسم بن عبدالرحمٰن عن أبيه عن عبدالله قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم : (يا ابن مسعود !) قلت : لبيك ثلاثا، قال : (هل تدرون أى عرى الإيمان أوثق ؟) قلت : الله ورسوله أعلم، قال : (الولاية فى الله والحب فى الله والبغض فى الله . . .)»
↰ One of the narrators of this narration, Walid bin Muslim, was a mudallis; he used to practice tadlis al-taswiyah. See: [تقريب التهذيب : 7456]
A narration from a narrator who practices tadlis al-taswiyah is only accepted if he explicitly states continuous hearing (sama’ muttasil) throughout. In this narration, there is no explicit statement of continuous hearing.
↰ Hisham bin Ammar, in his later years, suffered some change (ikhtilat). See: [الكواكب النيرات فى معرفة من اختلط من الرواة الثقات ص 84]
And there is no evidence that Ishaq al-Anmati heard hadith from him before his confusion, therefore this chain is also weak.
➏ From Amr bin al-Jamuh radi Allahu anhu [مسند أحمد 3؍430]
↰ Its chain is weak; Rushdin bin Sa'd is weak. See: [تقریب التہذیب 1942]
And the chain is disconnected (munqati’). There is no evidence that Abu Mansur met Amr bin al-Jamuh.
➐ From Mu'adh bin Anas al-Juhani radi Allahu anhu [مسند أحمد 3؍438]
↰ Its chain is weak; Zaban bin Fa'id is weak. See supporting narration number ➌
«وعنه قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم : ”من أعطى لله تعالى ومنع لله وأبغض لله وأنكح لله فقد استكمل ايمانه»
"Whoever gives (wealth) for Allah, withholds for Allah, loves for Allah, hates for Allah, and marries for Allah, then his faith is complete." [مسند أحمد 3؍440 ح5723 واللفظ له وسنن الترمذي : 2521 وقال : ”هذا حديث منكر“]
↰ The chain of this narration is hasan li-dhatih, it is not munkar, but it is not correct to use it as a supporting narration for the hadith of Mishkat.
In summary, the aforementioned narration «أفضل الأعمال» etc., with all its close and distant supporting narrations, remains weak and is not hasan, therefore the opinion of some scholars who declared it hasan is incorrect. It should also be remembered that a narration which is hasan li-ghayrih is not, in itself, a proof, but remains weak.

Benefit: The weakness of this narration does not mean that the issue mentioned in the narration is incorrect.
It is established from authentic narration that loving for Allah and hating for Allah is part of faith. See: [اضواء المصابیح ح30]
◈ Imam Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah rahimahullah said:
«حدثنا ابن نمير عن مالك بن مغول عن زبيد عن مجاهد قال : أوثق عرى الإيمان الحب فى الله والبغض فى الله»
"Mujahid (the Tabi'i and Qur'an commentator) said: The strongest bonds of faith (are two): loving for Allah and hating for Allah." [كتاب الايمان : 111، وسنده صحيح]