Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The world is a prison for the believer and a paradise for the disbeliever.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Amr bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Abu Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) to Bahrain to collect the jizya from there, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had made peace with the people of Bahrain and had appointed Sayyiduna Alaa bin Hadrami (may Allah be pleased with him) as their governor. Then Sayyiduna Abu Ubaidah (may Allah be pleased with him) brought that wealth from Bahrain. This news reached the Ansar, so they performed the Fajr prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). When he finished the prayer and turned around, the Ansar came before him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) smiled when he saw them and said, "I think you have heard that Abu Ubaidah has brought some wealth from Bahrain?" (And you have gathered today with the thought that you will receive some wealth.) They said, "Indeed, O Messenger of Allah!" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Rejoice and hope for that which will make you happy. By Allah! I do not fear poverty for you, but I fear that the world will be opened up for you as it was opened up for those before you, and you will compete with one another for it as those before you competed, and it will destroy you as it destroyed them."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When Persia and Rome are conquered, what will you say? Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We will say what Allah has commanded us (that is, we will give thanks for it). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And you will say nothing else? You will envy, then you will be jealous, then you will break ties with your friends, then you will become enemies, or he said something similar. Then you will go to the poor emigrants and appoint one of them as ruler over the others.

Sayyiduna Mustawraq bin Fihir says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: By Allah, the world in comparison to the Hereafter is like if one of you were to dip his finger into the river (and Yahya pointed with his index finger), then see how much moisture he brings back from it. (So the amount of water that remains on the finger is like the world, and the river is like the Hereafter. This is the proportion of the world to the Hereafter, and since the world is perishable and the Hereafter is everlasting, therefore it is even less than that.)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who used to say: Among the people of Bani Israel, there were three men—one was a leper, the second was bald, and the third was blind. So Allah Almighty wished to test them, and He sent an angel to them. The angel came to the leper and said, "Which thing is most beloved to you?" He replied, "A good color, good skin, and that this disease be removed from me because of which people dislike me." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: The angel passed his hand over him, so his ugliness was removed and he was given a good color and good skin. The angel said, "Which wealth do you like most?" He said, "Camels or cows." (The narrator of the hadith, Ishaq bin Abdullah, is in doubt whether he asked for camels or cows, but either the leper or the bald one said camels and the other said cows.) So he was given a pregnant she-camel of ten months, and it was said, "May Allah bless this for you." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Then the angel came to the bald man and said, "Which thing is most beloved to you?" He replied, "Good hair, and that this disease be removed from me because of which people dislike me." Then the angel passed his hand over him, so his disease was removed and he was given good hair. The angel said, "Which wealth do you like most?" He said, "Cows." So he was given a pregnant cow. The angel said, "May Allah bless your wealth." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Then the angel came to the blind man and said, "Which thing is most beloved to you?" He replied, "That Allah restores my eyesight so that I may see people." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Then the angel passed his hand over him, so Allah restored his eyesight. The angel said, "Which wealth do you like most?" He said, "Sheep and goats." So he was given a pregnant goat. Then both (the she-camel and the cow) and this (goat) gave birth. Eventually, the leper had a valley full of camels, the bald man had a valley full of cows and oxen, and the blind man had a valley full of sheep and goats.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: After some time, the same angel came to the leper in his original form and appearance and said, "I am a poor man; all my means have been exhausted during my journey (that is, I have no resources left, nor wealth or belongings), so today, except for Allah's help and then your help, it is not possible for me to reach my destination. I ask you, by Him who gave you a good color and good skin and wealth—camels—for one camel that may help me in my journey." He replied, "I have many obligations to people (that is, I am in debt or do not have more wealth than is needed for my household expenses to give you)." Then the angel said, "I recognize you. Were you not a poor leper, whom people disliked? Then Allah, by His grace, gave you this wealth." He replied, "I inherited this wealth from my forefathers, passed down through generations." The angel said, "If you are lying, may Allah return you to what you were before." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Then the angel came to the bald man in his original form and appearance and said to him the same as he had said to the leper, and he also gave the same answer as the leper had given. The angel said, "If you are lying, may Allah return you to what you were before." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Then the angel came to the blind man in his original form and appearance and said, "I am a poor man and a traveler; all my means and resources have been exhausted during my journey, so today, except for Allah's help and then your help, it is difficult for me to reach my destination. So I ask you, by Allah who gave you eyesight, for one goat so that it may help me in my journey." He replied, "Indeed, I was blind, so Allah gave me (eyes with) sight. So take from these goats as many as you wish and leave as many as you wish. By Allah! Today, whatever you take in the way of Allah, I will not make things difficult for you (that is, I will not stop your hand)." So the angel said, "Keep your wealth with you. You three men were only tested. Allah is pleased with you, and displeased with your two companions."

Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: By Allah! I am the first person who shot an arrow in the way of Allah, and we used to fight in jihad with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and we had nothing to eat except burnt leaves and acacia (both are wild trees), until one of us would pass stool like a goat does. And now today, the people of Banu Asad (that is, the descendants of Sayyiduna Zubair, may Allah be pleased with him) admonish me for the religion or want to punish me; if this happens, then I am surely at a loss and my efforts have been wasted.

Sayyiduna Khalid bin Umair Adawi says that (the governor of Basra) Utbah bin Ghazwan (may Allah be pleased with him) delivered a sermon to us. After praising and glorifying Allah, he said: After praise and blessings, know that the world has announced its end? And nothing remains of the world except like the leftover water in a vessel, which its owner drinks. And you are heading towards a home that will never perish, so perform good deeds in your life, because it has been narrated to us that a stone will be thrown from the edge of Hell and it will keep descending in it for seventy years and will not reach its bottom. By Allah! Hell will be filled. Do you find this astonishing? And it has been narrated to us that the distance from one side of the gate of Paradise to the other is a journey of forty years, and a day will come when the gate will be filled with the crowd of people. And I see myself as the seventh among seven people who were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and our food was nothing but the leaves of trees until our mouths became wounded (due to the heat and hardness of the leaves). I found a sheet and tore it into two pieces; I made a lower garment from one piece and Sa’d bin Malik did the same with the other piece. Now, today, there is none among us who is not a governor of a city, and I seek refuge with Allah from considering myself great while being small in the sight of Allah. And indeed, the prophethood of any prophet did not remain forever in the world, rather the effect of prophethood (vanished) after a short time, until its final outcome was that it became kingship. So soon you will see and experience the rulers who will come after us (that the matters of religion, which are the effect of prophethood, will not remain among them and they will become completely worldly).

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Three things accompany the deceased (to the graveyard). Then two return and one remains. His family, his wealth, and his deeds go with him; so his family and wealth return, and his deeds remain with him. (Therefore, deeds are the true companion; one should strive for them. Children, wealth, and property are only with a person while he is alive; after death, they are of no use, and being attached to them is foolishness.)

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Look at the one who is below you (in wealth, beauty, and children), and do not look at the one who is above you (in these things). If you do so, you will not consider the blessings of Allah upon you as insignificant.

‘Sayyiduna Amir bin Sa’d narrates that Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) was among his camels when his son Umar came (this Umar bin Sa’d is the same one who fought against Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) and who ruined his Hereafter for the sake of this world). When Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) saw him, he said,“I seek refuge with Allah from the evil of this rider.”Then he (Umar) dismounted and said,“You have secluded yourself among your camels and goats and left the people while they are fighting for sovereignty?”(i.e., for caliphate and rule). Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) struck his chest and said,“Be quiet. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘Allah loves the servant who is pious, rich, and (in times of tribulation and discord) hides himself in a corner.’”(And does not ruin his faith. Alas, Umar bin Sa’d forgot his father’s advice.)