The Book of Miscellany

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "The world is the believer's prison and the infidel's Jannah".[Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took hold of my shoulders and said, "Be in the world like a stranger or a wayfarer".Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) used to say: "When you survive till the evening, do not expect to live until the morning; and when you survive until the morning, do not expect to live until the evening; (do good deeds) when you are in good health before you fall sick, and (do good deeds) as long as you are alive before death strikes".[Al- Bukhari].

A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, guide me to such an action which, if I do Allah will love me and the people will also love me." He (ﷺ) said, "Have no desire for this world, Allah will love you; and have no desire for what people possess, and the people will love you."[Ibn Majah, Hadith Hasan].

'Umar bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) spoke at length regarding the worldly prosperity that people had achieved and said: "I saw that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would pass his days in hunger and could not get even degraded dates to fill his stomach".[Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) died when my house was void of any edible thing except for a small quantity of barley I had on a shelf and from which I kept eating it for a long time. Then when I measured what was left of it, it soon finished.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

(When he died) Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) left neither a dinar nor a dirham nor a male slave nor a female slave, nor anything else except his white riding mule, his weapons and his land which he had given in charity to wayfarers.[Al- Bukhari].

We emigrated with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) seeking the pleasure of Allah and expecting our reward from Him. Some of us died without enjoying anything of it. Among them was Mus'ab bin 'Umair (May Allah be pleased with him), who was killed in the battle of Uhud, leaving only a small coloured sheet of wool (which we used as his shroud). When we covered his head with it, his feet were exposed, and when we covered his feet with it, his head was uncovered. So the Prophet (ﷺ) told us to cover his head and to put some Idhkhir (i.e., fragrant grass) over his feet. Others among us enjoy prosperity.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Were this world worth a wing of mosquito, He would not have given a drink of water to an infidel."[At- Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan Sahih].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Verily! The world is accursed and what it contains is accursed, except remembrance of Allah and those who associate themselves with Allah; and a learned man, and a learning person."[At-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Do not crave for property lest you should be absorbed in the desire of worldly life."[At- Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan].

We were repairing our thatchy hut when Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed by and asked us, "What are you doing?" We said, "The thatch had gone weak and we are repairing it." He (ﷺ) said, "I see the sure thing (death) approaching sooner than this."[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmdhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan Sahih].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Verily, there is a Fitnah (trial) for every nation and the trial for my nation (or Ummah) is wealth."[At- Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan Sahih].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "There is no right for the son of adam except in these (four) things: A house to live in, a cloth to cover therewith his private parts, bread and water."[At-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Sahih].

I came to the Prophet (ﷺ) while he was reciting (Surat At-Takathur 102):"The mutual rivalry (for hoarding worldly things) preoccupy you. Until you visit the graves (i.e., till you die). Nay! You shall come to know! Again nay! You shall come to know! Nay! If you knew with a sure knowledge (the end result of hoarding, you would not have been occupied in worldly things). Verily, you shall see the blazing Fire (Hell)! And again, you shall see it with certainty of sight! Then (on that Day) you shall be asked about the delights (you indulged in, in this world)!" (102:1-8)(After reciting) he (ﷺ) said, "Son of adam says: 'My wealth, my wealth.' Do you own of your wealth other than what you eat and consume, and what you wear and wear out, or what you give in Sadaqah (charity) (to those who deserve it), and that what you will have in stock for yourself."[Muslim].

A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "O Messenger of Allah! By Allah, I love you." He (ﷺ) said, "Think about what you are saying." The man repeated thrice, "I swear by Allah that I love you." He (Prophet (ﷺ)) said, "If you love me, you should be ready for acute poverty; because poverty comes to those who love me, faster than a flood flowing towards its destination."[At-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Two hungry wolves sent in the midst of a flock of sheep are no more destructive to them than a man's greed for wealth and fame is to his Deen."[At- Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan Sahih].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) slept on a straw mat and got up with the marks left by it on his body. Ibn Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) said, "O Messenger of Allah! Would that you make us spread out a soft bedding for you." He (ﷺ) replied, "What have I to do with the world? I am like a rider who had sat under a tree for its shade, then went away and left it."[At- Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan Sahih].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The poor will enter Jannah five hundred years before the rich."[At-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Sahih].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "I looked into Jannah and saw that most of its dwellers are the poor; and I looked into Hell and saw that most of its inmates were women."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "I stood at the gate of Jannah and saw that most of those who enter it were poor, whereas the rich were held back; but those who were destined to go to Hell were ordered to be sent there (immediately)."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].