Sayyiduna Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) reports this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Every male servant and female servant (that is, every man and woman) has three friends. One friend says: I am with you; take whatever you wish and leave whatever you wish; that is his wealth. Another friend says: I am with you, but when you come to the door of the King, I will leave you; those are his servants and his family. And another friend says: Wherever you enter and wherever you go out, I will be with you; that is his deeds."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and his wording is: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The likeness of a man and of death is that of a man who has three friends. The first says: This is my wealth; take what you wish, give what you wish and leave what you wish. The second says: I am with you; I will keep serving you, but when you die I will leave you. The third says: I will be with you; I will go in with you and come out with you, whether (you) die or you live. As for the one who said: This is my wealth, take from it what you wish and leave what you wish, that is the man's wealth; the second (friend) is the man's clan; and the third friend is the man's deeds: wherever the man is, it will go in with him and come out with him."
Al-Bazzar recorded something similar, and in al-Kabir the narrators of one of its chains are the narrators of the Sahih.
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الزهد / 17844
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ صحیح
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه البزار فى المسند (3226) ، أخرجه المعجم الأوسط للطبراني برقم: 7392»