The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave some people a gift, and Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) was present there. (He says:) The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not give anything to one of them, even though he was the most beloved to me among them. I said, “O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), you did not give anything to so-and-so, even though I consider him to be a believer.” He said, “A believer or a Muslim?” I remained silent for a while, then my thoughts compelled me to speak again about him, and I said, “O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), you did not give anything to so-and-so, and by Allah, according to what I have observed, he is a believer.” He said, “A believer or a Muslim?” I remained silent for a while, then once again, due to my knowledge, I began to repeat my earlier statement. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) also repeated his answer. Then he said, “O Sa’d, even though a person is more beloved to me (still, by overlooking him) I give this wealth to someone else out of fear that (due to his weakness) he may turn away from Islam, and Allah may throw him on his face into the Fire.”
Hadith Referenceاللؤلؤ والمرجان / كتاب الايمان / 91
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:«صحیح»
Hadith Takhrij«صحیح، أخرجه البخاري في: 2 كتاب الإيمان: 19 باب إذا لم يكن الإسلام على الحقيقة»