Narrated from Sahl ibn Sa’d As Saidi may Allah be pleased with him, he said:
A man passed by the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him, so he said to a man sitting with him: “What is your opinion of this man?” The man responded: “He is a man from the noblest of people. This man—by Allah—if he proposes his proposal should be accepted, and if he intercedes his intercession should be granted.” The Messenger of Allah peace be upon him remained silent. Then another man passed by and the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said to the man sitting with him: “What is your opinion of this man?” The man replied: “This man is from the poor Muslims. If he proposes his proposal should not be accepted, if he intercedes his intercession should not be granted, and if he says something his statement should not be listened to.”
The Messenger of Allah be peace be upon him said: “This man (the poor man) is better than an earth filled with the likes of that man (the rich man).” (Al Bukhari 6447)
Shaykh Uthaymeen may Allah have mercy upon him said:
One of these men was from the notables of his people. He had influence among them. If he proposed to a woman for marriage she accepted, and the people listened when he spoke. The other man was the opposite; he was a weak man with no status. If he proposed to a woman it wasn’t accepted, if he interceded it was not granted, and when he spoke no one listened. The Prophet peace be upon him said: “This man (the poor man) is better than an earth filled with the likes of that man (the rich man).”
This means he is better in the sight of Allah the Exalted than an earth filled with the other man who had nobility, and status among his people. This is because Allah the Exalted does not look at nobility, status, lineage, wealth, appearance, clothes, vehicles, or homes. Rather He only looks at the heart and the actions. Thus if the person rectifies his heart with Allah the Exalted, constantly repents to Him, remembers Allah, fears Allah, is humble before Allah, and performs actions pleasing to Him; then this person is noble in the sight of Allah. This person is honorable with Him. If this person swears Allah will do something; Allah will surely make it so. A great benefit is taken from this. A person may have a lofty status in this world while having no value with Allah. And a person could have a lowly status in this world and no value in the eyes of the people while with Allah this person is better than many of the people deemed better than him.
From the Explanation of Riyadis Saliheen 3/52-53 by Shaykh Uthaymeen
Source: http://mtws.posthaven.com/this-man-is-better-than-an-earth-filled-with-that-man
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