What is Islam - eBook
The Worthlessness of this World
عن جابر بن عبد الله أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم مر بالسوق داخلا من بعض العالية والناس كنفته فمر بجدي أسك ميت فتناوله فأخذ بأذنه ثم قال: أيكم يحب أن هذا له بدرهم فقالوا: ما نحب أنه لنا بشيء وما نصنع به قال: أتحبون أنه لكم قالوا: والله لو كان حيا كان عيبا فيه لأنه أسك فكيف وهو ميت فقال: فوالله للدنيا أهون على الله من هذا عليكم (صحيح مسلم، الرقم: 2957)
Hazrat Jaabir bin ‘Abdillah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) reports that on one occasion, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) passed by the market while entering Madinah Munawwarah from the upper-portion of Madinah Munawwarah. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) entered while the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) were around him, and (after entering,) he passed by the corpse of a kid (a baby goat) which had very small ears. Upon seeing the corpse of the kid, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) took it and held it by its ear. He then posed the following question to the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum), “Which of you would want to take this kid for one dirham?” The Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) replied, “We would not want to take it, even if it was not in lieu of anything (i.e. we would not even take it if it was free), and what would we do with it (when it is carrion and cannot be eaten)?” Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) again asked, “Would you not like to take this kid?” The Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) responded, “By Allah! If it was alive, it would be regarded as a defective animal due to its ears (being very small), so how much more worthless it is now that it is dead!” Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) then said, “By Allah! Undoubtedly, the entire dunya is even more worthless in the sight of Allah Ta‘ala than this dead kid in your sight.”