Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
abudawud:4851[Chain 1] Abū Bakr b. Abū Shaybah > Abū Muʿāwiyah / Ibn Salamah > al-Aʿmash [Chain 2] Musaddad > ʿĪsá b. Yūnus > al-Aʿmash > Shaqīq > ʿAbdullāh

Two persons should not talk privately ignoring the third, for that will grieve him.  

أبو داود:٤٨٥١حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ يَعْنِي ابْنَ سَلَمَةَ عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ ح وَحَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ حَدَّثَنَا عِيسَى بْنُ يُونُسَ حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ عَنْ شَقِيقٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لاَ يَنْتَجِي اثْنَانِ دُونَ الثَّالِثِ فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ يُحْزِنُهُ  


See similar narrations below:

Collected by Ibn Mājah, Aḥmad, Ṭabarānī, Suyūṭī
ibnmajah:3776Hishām b. ʿAmmār > Sufyān b. ʿUyaynah > ʿAbdullāh b. Dīnār > Ibn ʿUmar

"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade two to converse (privately) to the exclusion of a third."  

ابن ماجة:٣٧٧٦حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ

نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ أَنْ يَتَنَاجَى اثْنَانِ دُونَ الثَّالِثِ  

ahmad:4106Wakīʿ > al-Aʿmash > Abū Wāʾil > ʿAbdullāh

"When you are three, two should not converse (privately) to the exclusion of their companion, because that makes him sad." (Using translation from Ibn Mājah 3775)   

أحمد:٤١٠٦حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ حَدَّثَنَا الْأَعْمَشُ عَنْ أَبِي وَائِلٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ إِذَا كُنْتُمْ ثَلَاثَةً فَلَا يَتَنَاجَ اثْنَانِ دُونَ وَاحِدٍ فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ يُحْزِنُهُ  

ahmad:4436Aswad b. ʿĀmir > Abū Bakr > ʿĀṣim > Abū Wāʾil > ʿAbdullāh

Two persons should not talk privately ignoring the third, for that will grieve him. (Using translation from Abū Dāʾūd 4851)   

أحمد:٤٤٣٦حَدَّثَنَا أَسْوَدُ بْنُ عَامِرٍ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ عَنْ عَاصِمٍ عَنْ أَبِي وَائِلٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ لَا يَنْتَجِي اثْنَانِ دُونَ صَاحِبِهِمَا فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ يُحْزِنُهُ  

tabarani:10246al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī al-Maʿmarī And ʾAḥmad b. ʿAmr al-Bazzāz > Yaḥyá b. Muḥammad b. al-Sakan > Rayḥān b. Saʿīd > ʿArʿarah b. al-Birind > Rawḥ b. al-Qāsim > ʿĀṣim Ibn Bahdalah > Zir b. Ḥubaysh > Ibn Masʿūd

[Machine] The Prophet ﷺ said, "When three people gather together, two should not engage in private conversation to the exclusion of the third, as this would grieve him."  

الطبراني:١٠٢٤٦حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْمَعْمَرِيُّ وَأَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو الْبَزَّازُ قَالَا ثنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ السَّكَنِ ثنا رَيْحَانُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ ثنا عَرْعَرَةُ بْنُ الْبِرِنْدِ عَنْ رَوْحِ بْنِ الْقَاسِمِ عَنْ عَاصِمِ ابْنِ بَهْدَلَةَ عَنْ زِرِّ بْنِ حُبَيْشٍ عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ ؓ قَالَ

قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ «إِذَا اجْتَمَعَ ثَلَاثَةٌ فَلَا يَتَنَاجَى اثْنَانِ دُونَ الثَّالِثِ؛ فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ يُحْزِنُهُ»