Source: Sharḥ Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ from Bulūgh al-Marām by Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī
Translation: Ḥāfiẓ ʿAbd al-Salām bin Muḥammad Bhaṭwī
✦ Ḥadīth
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم:
تعس عبد الدينار والدرهم والقطيفة إن أعطي رضي وإن لم يعط لم يرض.
Narrated by al-Bukhārī
“Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
Wretched is the slave of the dinar, the dirham, and the adorned cloak.
If he is given, he is pleased; if he is not given, he is displeased.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6435]
See also: Tuḥfat al-Ashrāf 9/431, 9/439
❖ Vocabulary
- تَعِسَ – (taʿisa): He perished, stumbled, or fell. Used here to convey ruin or destruction.
- القطيفة – A plush or fringed cloak; represents luxury and indulgence.
✿ Key Lessons and Reflections
➊ The Misery of a Worldly Slave
In this ḥadīth, the dinar, dirham, and luxurious garment are symbols of worldly desires. The person described becomes:
- A slave to wealth and materialism.
- Obsessed with receiving, and discontent when deprived.
- A person whose happiness is dictated by what he possesses — not by his relationship with Allah ﷻ.
📌 Just like a slave obeys his master, this person serves wealth, enduring any humiliation to acquire it. His priorities revolve not around divine pleasure, but around material gain.
Allah ﷻ described the hypocrites in similar terms:
وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَلْمِزُكَ فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ…
“Among them are those who criticize you concerning the [distribution of] charities…”
[At-Tawbah 9:58]
They are content if they receive, but rebel when they do not.
➋ Forms of Worldly Enslavement
People are enslaved to different worldly temptations:
- Some are slaves to money.
- Others to status, beauty, property, or luxuries.
- Their worth and happiness depend on their possessions, not their piety.
➌ The Real Purpose of Life: Worship
Allah ﷻ declared:
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
“I did not create jinn and mankind except to worship Me.”
[Adh-Dhāriyāt 51:56]
The believer’s goal is Allah’s pleasure, not worldly accumulation.
Seeking worldly provision is not haram — being enslaved to it is.
💡 Wealth is not condemned, but when it distracts from servitude to Allah ﷻ, it becomes a curse.
➍ Use the World for the Hereafter
The believer should earn and spend wealth with the intention of:
- Fulfilling religious duties
- Supporting family and community
- Striving for the pleasure of Allah
Such a person uses wealth as a means, not an end.
In contrast, Allah ﷻ condemned those who worship superficially:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَعْبُدُ اللَّـهَ عَلَى حَرْفٍ…
“Among mankind is he who worships Allah on the edge…”
[Al-Ḥajj 22:11]
These people worship only when things go well. A single test turns them away.
They lose both this world and the Hereafter — truly the ultimate loss.
✅ Summary
✔️ Destruction is for the one who worships wealth — his joy and sorrow are tied to it.
✔️ The believer’s mission is worship, not indulgence.
✔️ Wealth and luxury are tools — they must serve our servitude to Allah, not replace it.
✔️ Real success lies in being a servant of Allah, not a servant of the world.
