Al-Adab Al-Mufrad #478
Attending to this world
The Arabic includes the chain of narration (sanad) and the collector's commentary; the English translation shows the Prophet's words only.
حَدَّثَنَا صَدَقَةُ، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ عُلَيَّةَ، عَنِ الْجُرَيْرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي نَضْرَةَ: قَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنَّا يُقَالُ لَهُ: جَابِرٌ أَوْ جُوَيْبِرٌ: طَلَبْتُ حَاجَةً إِلَى عُمَرَ فِي خِلاَفَتِهِ، فَانْتَهَيْتُ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ لَيْلاً، فَغَدَوْتُ عَلَيْهِ، وَقَدْ أُعْطِيتُ فِطْنَةً وَلِسَانًا، أَوْ قَالَ: مِنْطَقًا، فَأَخَذْتُ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَصَغَّرْتُهَا، فَتَرَكْتُهَا لاَ تَسْوَى شَيْئًا، وَإِلَى جَنْبِهِ رَجُلٌ أَبْيَضُ الشَّعْرِ أَبْيَضُ الثِّيَابِ، فَقَالَ لَمَّا فَرَغْتُ: كُلُّ قَوْلِكَ كَانَ مُقَارِبًا، إِلاَّ وَقُوعَكَ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَهَلْ تَدْرِي مَا الدُّنْيَا؟ إِنَّ الدُّنْيَا فِيهَا بَلاَغُنَا، أَوْ قَالَ: زَادُنَا، إِلَى الْآخِرَةِ، وَفِيهَا أَعْمَالُنَا الَّتِي نُجْزَى بِهَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ، قَالَ: فَأَخَذَ فِي الدُّنْيَا رَجُلٌ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِهَا مِنِّي، فَقُلْتُ: يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، مَنْ هَذَا الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي إِلَى جَنْبِكَ؟ قَالَ: سَيِّدُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ أُبَيُّ بْنُ كَعْبٍ.
Abu Nadra said, "One of our men called Jabir or Jubayr said, 'I
went to 'Umar while he was Khalif to ask for something which I needed.
I reached Madina during the night and went straight to him. I am someone
with intelligence and a ready tongue - or he said speech (meaning eloquence).
I had looked at this world and thought little of it. I had abandoned it
as not being worth anything. At 'Umar's side there was a man with white
hair and white clothes. When I had finished speaking, he said, "All that
you have said is correct except for your attack on this world. Do you know
what this world is? This world is that in which we reach (or he said, 'where
our provision is') the Next World. It contains our actions for which we
will be rewarded in the Next World." He said, "A man who knows this world
better than I do worked in it." I asked, "Amir al-Mu'minin, who is this
man at our side?" He replied, 'The master of the Muslims, Ubayy ibn Ka'b.'"
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About Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
This hadith is #478 from Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, in the Book of Attending to this world.