Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2872
حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْخَلاَّلُ وَغَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ، قَالُوا حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ سَالِمٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّمَا النَّاسُ كَإِبِلٍ مِائَةٍ لاَ يَجِدُ الرَّجُلُ فِيهَا رَاحِلَةً " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘People are like a hundred camels among which a man can hardly find one suitable for riding.’ Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan sahih.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The image conveys how rare a truly suitable, dependable person is, just as a suitable riding camel is rare in a large herd.