Is “Find your brother seventy excuses” a Hadeeth? If it is a Hadeeth, please complete it and mention the chain of transmission.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

This is not a Hadeeth; rather, it is a saying of Ja‘far ibn Muhammad which was narrated by Al-Bayhaqi, May Allaah Have Mercy upon him. He said, “If something you dislike reaches you about your (Muslim) brother, then find him one to seventy excuses, until you find it, however if you do not, then, say perhaps he has an excuse which I do not know of.”

Also, Muhammad ibn Seereen narrated it in another wording, “If something (you dislike) reaches you about your brother, then find an excuse for him. If you do not find him an excuse, say (to yourself) perhaps, he has an excuse.” [Ibn ‘Asaakir]

Allaah Knows best.