Ka'b al-Ahbar narrates: That I should commit fornication thirty-three times is more preferable to me than that I consume a single dirham of usury (riba) about which Allah Almighty knows that, when I consumed it, I consumed it as usury.
Imam Ahmad recorded it from Hanzalah bin al-Rahib from Ka'b al-Ahbar. Al-Husayni mentioned that this Hanzalah is the one whom the angels washed (after his death); if that is so, he was martyred at the Battle of Uhud, so how could he narrate from Ka'b al-Ahbar? And if he is someone else, then I do not know him. Apparently he is his son, Abdullah bin Hanzalah, and the name Abdullah has dropped out of the original; and Allah knows best. The narrators of this report up to Hanzalah (may Allah be pleased with him) are the narrators of the Sahih.
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب البيوع / 6578