Three things follow the bier of a dead man. Two of them come back and one is left with him: the members of his family, wealth and his good deeds. The members of his family and wealth come back and the deeds alone are left with him.
Hadith Commentary
This profound narration from Sahih Muslim (2960) in "The Book of Zuhd and Softening of Hearts" offers essential wisdom regarding the transient nature of worldly attachments and the permanence of spiritual investments.
The Three Companions
Family Members: Even the closest relatives who accompany the deceased to the grave must eventually return to their worldly affairs, illustrating the temporary nature of human relationships in this life.
Wealth and Possessions: All material accumulation remains behind, benefiting heirs while the deceased gains nothing from what they labored to collect except what was spent in Allah's cause.
Good Deeds: These alone remain as eternal companions, providing comfort in the grave and becoming the only currency of value in the Hereafter.
Spiritual Implications
This hadith serves as a powerful reminder to prioritize deeds over worldly attachments. The intelligent believer invests in what accompanies them beyond death, while the heedless preoccupies themselves with what they must inevitably abandon.
The separation described emphasizes that in the grave, one finds solace only through righteous actions—prayers offered, charity given, knowledge beneficial to others, and righteous children who pray for them.
Practical Application
Scholars derive from this that one should balance worldly responsibilities with spiritual preparation, ensuring that wealth and family become means to accumulate good deeds rather than distractions from ultimate reality.
The ultimate wisdom lies in understanding that what we send ahead through righteous actions matters infinitely more than what we leave behind in worldly possessions.