It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that he came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while he (peace and blessings be upon him) was suffering from a severe fever, and there was a sheet over him (peace and blessings be upon him). He placed his hand on the sheet and felt the heat even from above the sheet. So Abu Sa'id said: "O Messenger of Allah! How severe your fever is!" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Such is our (the prophets') case: trials are made severe for us and our reward is also doubled." Then he asked: "O Messenger of Allah! Who among people are tried most severely?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The prophets." He asked: "Then who?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The scholars." He asked: "Then who?" He said: "Then the righteous. One of them would be tried with poverty to such an extent that he had nothing to wear except a single cloak, and another would be tried with lice (in great number) until they killed him; and one of them would be happier with his trial than any of you is with a gift (from Allah)." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, because he used Hisham bin Sa'd as evidence. Moreover, it has many supporting narrations, and the hadith of Asim bin Bahdalah from Mus'ab bin Sa'd from his father has many routes that are discussed in the study circles of knowledge, and al-Ala' bin al-Musayyab corroborated Asim bin Bahdalah (in narrating it from Mus'ab bin Sa'd).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked: "Who among people are tried most severely?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The prophets, then those who are best (in rank) after them, then those who are best after them. When a man is firm in his religion, he is tried according to the measure of his religion: the one whose religion is solid, his trial is severe, and the one whose religion is weak, his trial is (correspondingly) lighter." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "Who are tried most severely?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The prophets, then those who are best in rank, then those who are best after them. A man is tried according to his religion: if he is firm in religion, his trial becomes severe, and if there is softness (weakness) in his religion, he is tried according to his religion. Then trials continue to come upon the servant until they leave him walking upon the earth with no sin remaining upon him."