He heard the Prophet ﷺ say, "Allah says, 'Son of Adam, if you give away your surplus, it is better for you, and if you withhold it, it is worse for you. Begin with those whom you support. Allah does not blame anyone for having only what suffices. The upper hand is better than the lower hand.'"
أنه سمع النبي ﷺ يقول: إن الله عز وجل يقول: يا ابن آدم! إن تعط الفضل فهو خير لك، وإن تمسكه فهو شر لك، وابدأ بمن تعول، ولا يلوم الله على الكفاف، واليد العليا خير من اليد السفلى.
Ahmad (8743) narrated it from Zayd bin Yahya Dimashqi, who said, Abdullah bin Ala bin Zabr told us, I heard Qasim, the freedman of Yazid, say, Abu Hurairah told me, and then he related it.Its chain of transmission is hasan because of Qasim, who is Ibn Abdul-Rahman Shami, Abu Abdul-Rahman Dimashqi. There is disagreement about him, though his hadith is hasan.As for what Mizzi mentioned, saying, "It has been said that he did not hear from any of the companions except Abu Umama," this chain of transmission refutes that claim. More than one scholar has stated that he met forty of the Muhajirin and Ansar. It has also been reported from him that he said, "I met a hundred of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."Abu Hatim mentioned only that "his narration from Ali, Ibn Masud, and Ayesha is mursal."