Muslims who live long lives

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shall I not tell you about the best of you?" The people said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best of you are those whose lives are longest and whose deeds are best."

In one narration, instead of "best deeds", the words are: "whose character is best."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shall I not tell you about the best of you?" The people said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best of you are those whose lives are long and who remain upright (that is, keep doing good and keep avoiding evil)."
Abu Ya'la recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: A man said: O Messenger of Allah, which of the people is best? He said: "The one whose life is long and whose deeds are good." He asked: Which of the people is worst? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one whose life is long and whose deeds are evil."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Saghir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its chain is jayyid (good).

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shall I not tell you about the best of you?" The people said: Yes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best of you are those with the finest character and the longest lives." Allamah al-Haythami says: I say:
Al-Tirmidhi recorded it, except that he did not record the words: "the longest lives."
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, except for Mubarak bin Fadalah, and he has been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) reports this about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Shall I not tell you about the best among you? The people said: Yes indeed, O Messenger of Allah! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Those whose lives are long in Islam while they remain on the right course (that is, they keep doing good deeds and keep avoiding evil)."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Abu Umayyah bin Ya'la, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah Almighty has some servants whom Allah Almighty does not wish to give death; Allah Almighty lengthens their lives in good deeds, grants them excellent provision, grants them a life of well-being, takes their souls in a state of well-being upon their beds, and will grant them the rank of the martyrs."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Ja'far bin Muhammad al-Wasiti al-Warraq, whom I do not know, and the rest of its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Shaddad Abu Ammar narrates: Sayyiduna Awf bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O plague, take me into your grip! The people said: Have you not heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "However long a Muslim's life becomes, it is all the better for him"? He replied: Yes indeed!
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, al-Nahhas bin Qahm, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Two men from Bali, a branch of the Quda'ah tribe, accepted Islam at the blessed hand of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). One of them attained martyrdom, and the other lived on for a year after him, then (he too passed away). Sayyiduna Talhah bin Ubaydullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I saw Paradise in a dream, and saw that the one of the two who had died later was admitted into Paradise before the martyr. I was amazed at this. The next morning I mentioned it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (the narrator is unsure, or perhaps the words are:) it was mentioned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Did he (the one who died later) not fast Ramadan after him (the one martyred first), and pray six thousand rak'ahs, and such-and-such a number of sunnah rak'ahs?"
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say:
This report is transmitted from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), as you see, and in it is mentioned that Sayyiduna Talhah bin Ubaydullah (may Allah be pleased with him) saw a dream. A hadith transmitted by Sayyiduna Talhah bin Ubaydullah (may Allah be pleased with him) has been recorded by Ibn Majah.
Ahmad recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Shaddad (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Three men from Banu Udhrah came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and accepted Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Who will take care of them for me?" Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I will. So they stayed with Sayyiduna Talhah. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent out a military expedition; one of them took part in it and attained martyrdom. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent out another expedition, and the second of them took part in it and he too attained martyrdom. The third of them died on his bed. Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I saw those three men in a dream, present with me in Paradise. I saw that the one who had died on his bed was ahead of them, after him was the rank of the one who had been martyred later, and the one who had been martyred first had the last rank of all. Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I was perplexed by this. I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned it to him, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What is it about this that surprises you? No one has greater virtue in the sight of Allah Almighty than a believer who is granted a long life in Islam, so that he declares the glory of Allah Almighty, His greatness and that He alone is worthy of worship." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: A hadith transmitted by Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) has been recorded by Ibn Majah in "Kitab al-Ta'bir", and it is other than this report.
Ahmad recorded it; he recorded part of it as mawsul (connected) and its opening part as mursal,
Abu Ya'la and al-Bazzar also recorded it; both of them say it is from Abdullah bin Shaddad from Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him), so they both recorded it in a similar form as mawsul, and their narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) transmits this as a marfu' hadith: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Until a child reaches puberty, whatever good he does, its reward is recorded for his father (the narrator is unsure, or perhaps the words are:) for his parents; and whatever evil the child does, that evil is recorded neither against the child nor against his parents. When the child reaches puberty, the Pen begins to record against him, and the guardian angels who are with him are ordered to guard him and to be strict. Then when the person reaches forty years of age as a Muslim, Allah Almighty protects him from three kinds of afflictions: insanity, leprosy and leucoderma. When he becomes fifty, Allah Almighty lightens his reckoning. When he becomes 60, Allah Almighty grants him turning to Him in the way He loves. When he becomes seventy, the inhabitants of the heavens begin to love him. When he becomes eighty, Allah Almighty has his good deeds recorded and overlooks his bad deeds. When he becomes 90, Allah Almighty forgives his past and future sins, grants him intercession for the members of his household, and he is the captive of Allah Almighty on His earth. And when he reaches the most decrepit age, so that he comes to know nothing after having had knowledge, Allah Almighty records for him a reward like the good deeds he used to do in his time of health, but whatever evil he does is not recorded."

In one narration the words are: Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Any Muslim who is granted a long life in Islam (that is, as a Muslim) (the narrator then mentioned the narration as before, in which, further on, the words are:) when he becomes seventy years old in Islam, Allah Almighty loves him and the inhabitants of the heavens love him."

In one narration the words are: "When he becomes seventy years old in Islam, the inhabitants of the heavens and the inhabitants of the earth love him."

In one narration the words are: "When he becomes 60 years old, Allah Almighty grants him turning to Allah in the way He loves. When he becomes seventy years old, Allah Almighty forgives his past and future sins, he is the captive of Allah on Allah's earth, and his intercession for the members of his household will be accepted." Abu Ya'la recorded all these narrations with various chains.

Ahmad recorded this narration in abridged form as mawquf, and in it he recorded these words: "When he becomes 60 years old, Allah Almighty grants him turning to Him and, because of that, loves him (the servant)."

After it he recorded, with his chain, from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), a narration like it. The narrators of the chain of the report of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) have been declared trustworthy despite weakness in some of them. In one of Abu Ya'la's various chains there is a narrator, Yasin al-Zayyat, and in one chain there is a narrator, Yusuf bin Abi Dharrah, and both of them are extremely da'if (weak). In one chain there is a narrator, Abu Ubaydah bin al-Fudayl bin Iyad, who is layyin (soft), and the rest of the narrators of this route are thiqat (trustworthy). The chain of the mawquf report transmitted from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) contains narrators whom I do not know.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) transmits this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever Allah Almighty grants forty years of life in Islam (that is, whoever reaches 40 years of age as a Muslim), Allah Almighty turns away from him various kinds of afflictions, such as leprosy and leucoderma. (Here a narrator named Abd al-Malik recorded these words in his narration:) Allah Almighty holds back from him various kinds of affliction, such as leprosy, leucoderma and the rage of Satan. And whoever Allah Almighty grants 50 years of life in Islam, Allah Almighty will take an easy reckoning from him."

In one narration the words are: "On the Day of Resurrection Allah Almighty will make the reckoning easy for him. And whoever Allah Almighty grants 60 years of life in Islam, Allah Almighty will grant him the ability to turn towards that which Allah Almighty loves. (Here a narrator named Abu Damrah recorded these words:) Allah Almighty will grant him the ability to turn to Him in an excellent way. And whoever Allah Almighty grants seventy years of life in Islam, the inhabitants of the heavens and the inhabitants of the earth come to love him. And whoever Allah Almighty grants 80 years of life in Islam, Allah Almighty will erase his bad deeds and record his good deeds." (A narrator named Anas recorded these words in his narration:) "Allah Almighty will record his good deeds and will not record his bad deeds. And whoever Allah Almighty grants ninety years of life in Islam, Allah Almighty will forgive his sins, he will be the captive of Allah Almighty on the earth, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be an intercessor for the members of his household." (A narrator named Anas bin Iyad recorded these words in his narration:) "On the Day of Resurrection his intercession for the members of his household will be accepted."
Al-Bazzar recorded it with two chains, and the narrators of one of them are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) transmits this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "When a Muslim servant reaches fifty years of age, Allah Almighty makes his good deeds light (perhaps what is meant is that Allah Almighty makes doing good deeds easy for him). When he reaches 60 years of age, Allah Almighty grants him the ability to turn to Him. When he becomes seventy years old, the inhabitants of the heavens begin to love him. When he becomes eighty years old, Allah Almighty keeps his good deeds firmly in place and erases his bad deeds. When he becomes 90 years old, Allah Almighty forgives his past and future sins, Allah Almighty accepts his intercession for the members of his household, and it is recorded for him in the heavens: This is the captive of Allah on the earth."
Abu Ya'la recorded it in al-Kabir; its chain contains a narrator, Azrah bin Qays al-Azdi, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abi Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When a Muslim person becomes fifty years old, Allah Almighty turns away from him three kinds of afflictions: insanity, leprosy and leucoderma. When he becomes 60 years old, Allah Almighty grants him the ability to turn to Him. When he becomes seventy years old, his sins are erased and his good deeds are recorded. When he becomes 90 years old, Allah Almighty forgives his past and future sins, he is the captive of Allah on the earth, and he will intercede for the members of his household."
Al-Tabarani recorded it as the narration of Abdullah bin Amr bin Uthman from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abi Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), and he did not live in his time; however, the narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy), if Muhammad bin Ammar al-Ansari is the grandson of Sayyiduna Sa'd al-Qaraz (may Allah be pleased with him), and apparently it is he; and Allah knows best.
Al-Bazzar recorded it in a greatly abridged form; its chain contains majhul (unknown) narrators, as he stated.

Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) transmits this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "When a servant becomes sixty years old, Allah Almighty has left him no excuse regarding his lifespan and has granted him a full life."
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.