The Peak of Eloquence · Hadith 1641 (#Passage #450)

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فإِنَّمَا أَهْلَكَ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ أَنَّهُمْ مَنَعُوا النَّاسَ الْحَقَّ فَاشْتَرَوْهُ، وَأَخَذُوهُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ فَاقْتَدَوْهُ.

Now, what ruined those before you was that they denied people their rights and then they had to purchase them (by bribes), and they led the people to wrong and they followed it.

Gradings are classical jarḥ-wa-taʿdīl, name-matched to a rijāl index (not individually re-verified).