Musnad Ahmad

It is narrated from Hazrat Utbah bin Ghazwan (may Allah be pleased with him) that I have seen the time when I was the seventh among those who accepted Islam with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and at that time we had nothing to eat except the leaves of the acacia tree, because of which our jaws became sore.

Once, Hazrat Utbah (may Allah be pleased with him) delivered a sermon, beginning with praise and glorification of Allah, and after saying "Amma ba'd" he said: The world is informing us that it is coming to an end, and it is turning its back and departing, and its remaining duration is only as much as the moisture left in a vessel by the one who drinks from it. And you are about to move to a house which will never perish, so move to that house with the best of deeds, because we have been told that if a stone is thrown from the edge of Hell, it will keep falling for seventy years but will not reach its bottom. By Allah! It will surely be filled. Do you find this astonishing? And we have also been told that the distance between the two sides of Paradise is a journey of forty years, and yet a day will surely come when it will be filled due to the crowd. And I have seen the time when I was the seventh person among those who accepted Islam with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). At that time, we had nothing to eat except the leaves of trees, because of which our jaws became sore. One day I found a sheet, so I divided it into two parts between myself and Sa'd; he tied half of it as a lower garment, and I tied the other half. And now each one of us is a governor of some city. I seek refuge with Allah from considering myself great in my own eyes while being insignificant in the sight of Allah. And the chain of Prophethood has now ended, and its outcome will be kingship, and soon you will test the rulers who come after us.