Al-Matalib al-'Aliyah 3176 — The virtue of having little of this world

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'id bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say, while he (peace and blessings be upon him) was turned towards Sayyiduna Usamah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them both): "O Usamah, beware of every hungry liver (the wronged and the needy) that will bring a case against you before Allah Almighty on the Day of Resurrection; and beware of the supplication of servants who (through abundant worship and detachment) have melted away their flesh, scorched their skins with hot winds and blasts of heat, and kept their livers so thirsty (through fasting) that their sight has grown dim. So, if you wish, look at them: the angels are delighted by them, and through them earthquakes and trials are turned away." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) wept until his sobbing became intense, and then said: "Woe to this ummah! What the one who obeys his Lord will have to endure at their hands: how they will kill such people and belie them, only because they obeyed Allah, the Blessed and Exalted." Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah, will the people at that time be upon Islam? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes." He said: Then over what will they fight one another? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Umar, those people will have abandoned the (right) path; they will ride mounts, wear the softest of garments, and the sons of Persia will serve them, adorning themselves for them as a woman adorns herself for her husband. Whereas the friends of Allah Almighty (awliya' Allah), when they speak, will be wearing woollen cloaks, their backs bent (from much prostration); they will have slaughtered their souls (their desires) through thirst. When one of them speaks the truth, he will be belied and told: 'You are the companion of Satan and the head of misguidance; you forbid the adornment that Allah has granted and the good things of provision.' They will recite the Book of Allah in a way that has no connection with the (true) religion, and they will humiliate the friends of Allah. And O Usamah, know that on the Day of Resurrection the closest of people to Allah Almighty will be the one whose grief, thirst and hunger in this world were long. These are the chosen and righteous ones who, when they are present (in a gathering), are not seated near, and when they are absent, are not missed. The corners of the earth recognise them; they are well known among the people of the heaven but hidden from the people of the earth. The angels cover them with their wings. People will be in luxury and comfort while they find delight in hunger and thirst; people will wear soft clothes while they wear coarse clothing; people will spread out beds while they spread their foreheads and knees on the ground (in prostration); people will laugh while they weep. O Usamah, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will not combine hardship upon them in both this world and the Hereafter; for them is Paradise. O Usamah, if only I could see them! For them are glad tidings in the Hereafter; the earth is merciful to them and the Compeller (Allah) is pleased with them. People have ruined the deeds and character of the prophets, but they have preserved them. The one truly eager is he who turns to Allah with eagerness like theirs, and the loser is he who opposes them. When they depart from the world, the earth weeps over them, and Allah Almighty is angry with every town in which there is none like them. O Usamah, when you see them in a town, know that they are a source of safety for that town; Allah Almighty does not send punishment upon a people among whom they are present. Hold fast to them for yourself; perhaps through their blessing you will be saved. And beware! Never abandon their way, or else your feet will slip and you will fall into the pit of the Fire. They (for the sake of zuhd) deprived themselves even of what Allah had made lawful; they sought the excellence of the Hereafter and gave up food and drink despite being able to have it. They did not pounce upon the world as dogs pounce upon a carcass. People became absorbed in the world, while they occupied themselves with obedience to Allah, the Blessed and Exalted. They wore rags and ate pieces of bread. You will see them dishevelled and covered in dust; people, seeing them, will think they have some disease, though they will have no illness; people will imagine that their minds have gone, though their minds have not gone. Rather, they have beheld with their hearts that Great Being whose love has made their minds independent of the world, so they walk among the people of the world as though their minds were absent. O Usamah, they showed true understanding at a time when the minds of people had been lost; for them are everlasting glad tidings in the Hereafter."
[Abu Nu'aym in Hilyat al-Awliya': 3176, and its chain is very weak.]