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.
Qurʾān Bukhārī Muslim Nasāʾī Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Ibn Mājah Mālik Aḥmad Dārimī Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī
darimi:223 – Mūsá b. Khālid > ʿĪsá b. Yūnus > al-Aʿmash > ʿUmārah And Mālik b. al-Ḥārith > ʿAbd al-Raḥman b. Yazīd > ʿAbdullāh

[Machine] "The intention in the Sunnah is better than the effort in innovation."  

الدارمي:٢٢٣ – أَخْبَرَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ خَالِدٍ حَدَّثَنَا عِيسَى بْنُ يُونُسَ عَنِ الْأَعْمَشِ عَنْ عُمَارَةَ وَمَالِكِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ

«الْقَصْدُ فِي السُّنَّةِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الِاجْتِهَادِ فِي الْبِدْعَةِ»  

See similar narrations below:

Collected by Aḥmad's Zuhd, Suyūṭī
ahmad-zuhd:871 – ʿAbdullāh from my father > Abū Muʿāwiyah > al-Aʿmash > Mālik b. al-Ḥārith > ʿImārah > ʿAbd al-Raḥman b. Yazīd

[Machine] Abdullah said, "Economy in following the Sunnah is better than exerting efforts in innovation."  

الزهد لأحمد:٨٧١ – حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ حَدَّثَنَا الْأَعْمَشُ عَنْ مَالِكِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ وَعَنْ عِمَارَةَ كِلَاهُمَا عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ قَالَ

قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ الِاقْتِصَادُ فِي السُّنَّةِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الِاجْتِهَادِ فِي الْبِدْعَةِ