Chapter: The warning regarding worldly pleasures, amusements and competing against each other

(An ally of the tribe of Bani 'Amir bin Lu'ai and one of those who had witnessed the battle of Badr with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)) Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) sent Abu 'Ubaida bin AlJarrah to Bahrain to collect the Jizya tax. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had concluded a peace treaty with the people of Bahrain and appointed Al 'Ala bin Al-Hadrami as their chief; Abu Ubaida arrived from Bahrain with the money. The Ansar heard of Abu 'Ubaida's arrival which coincided with the Fajr (morning) prayer led by Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). When the Prophet (ﷺ) finished the prayer, they came to him. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) smiled when he saw them and said, "I think you have heard of the arrival of Abu 'Ubaida and that he has brought something." They replied, "Yes, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! " He said, "Have the good news, and hope for what will please you. By Allah, I am not afraid that you will become poor, but I am afraid that worldly wealth will be given to you in abundance as it was given to those (nations) before you, and you will start competing each other for it as the previous nations competed for it, and then it will divert you (from good) as it diverted them." '

The Prophet (ﷺ) went out and offered the funeral prayer for the martyrs of the (battle of) Uhud and then ascended the pulpit and said, "I am your predecessor and I am a witness against you. By Allah, I am now looking at my Tank-lake (Al-Kauthar) and I have been given the keys of the treasures of the earth (or the keys of the earth). By Allah! I am not afraid that after me you will worship others besides Allah, but I am afraid that you will start competing for (the pleasures of) this world."

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The thing I am afraid of most for your sake, is the worldly blessings which Allah will bring forth to you." It was said, "What are the blessings of this world?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The pleasures of the world." A man said, "Can the good bring forth evil?" The Prophet (ﷺ) kept quiet for a while till we thought that he was being inspired divinely. Then he started removing the sweat from his forehead and said," Where is the questioner?" That man said, "I (am present)." Abu Sa`id added: We thanked the man when the result (of his question) was such. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Good never brings forth but good. This wealth (of the world) is (like) green and sweet (fruit), and all the vegetation which grows on the bank of a stream either kills or nearly kills the animal that eats too much of it, except the animal that eats the Khadira (a kind of vegetation). Such an animal eats till its stomach is full and then it faces the sun and starts ruminating and then it passes out dung and urine and goes to eat again. This worldly wealth is (like) sweet (fruit), and if a person earns it (the wealth) in a legal way and spends it properly, then it is an excellent helper, and whoever earns it in an illegal way, he will be like the one who eats but is never satisfied."

`Imran bin Husain said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The best people are my contemporaries (i.e., the present (my) generation) and then those who come after them (i.e., the next generation)." `Imran added: I am not sure whether the Prophet (ﷺ) repeated the statement twice after his first saying. The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "And after them there will come people who will bear witness, though they will not be asked to give their witness; and they will be treacherous and nobody will trust them, and they will make vows, but will not fulfill them, and fatness will appear among them."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The best people are those of my generation, and then those who will come after them (the next generation), and then those who will come after them (i.e. the next generation), and then after them, there will come people whose witness will precede their oaths, and whose oaths will precede their witness."

I heard Khabbab, who had branded his `Abdomen with seven brands, saying, "Had Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) not forbidden us to invoke Allah for death, I would have invoked Allah for death. The companions of Muhammad have left this world without taking anything of their reward in it (i.e., they will have perfect reward in the Hereafter), but we have collected of the worldly wealth what we cannot spend but on earth (i.e. on building houses).

I came to Khabbab while he was building a wall, and he (Khabbab) said, "Our companions who have left this world, did not enjoy anything of their reward therein, while we have collected after them, much wealth that we cannot spend but on earth (i.e., on building).

We migrated with the Prophet..(This narration is related in the chapter of migration).