Mustadrak al-Hakim — Hadith 8127

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abu Dharr! Do you consider an abundance of wealth to be richness?" I said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! That is richness. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "And do you consider a lack of wealth to be poverty?" I said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! That is poverty. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is not so. Rather, true richness is the richness of the heart, and poverty is the poverty of the heart." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked me about a man from Quraysh: "Do you know so-and-so?" I said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "How do you regard him?" I said: When he asks, he is given, and when he attends (a gathering), he is admitted. The narrator said: Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked me about a man from the people of the Suffah: "Do you know so-and-so?" I said: No, O Messenger of Allah! So he (peace and blessings be upon him) kept describing his appearance and qualities until I recognised him, and I said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "How do you regard him?" I said: He is a poor man, one of the people who live in the mosque. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He (this poor believer) is better than an earthful of (wealthy) people like the other one." I said: O Messenger of Allah! Should he not also be given some of what is given to the other (wealthy) man? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If he is given, he is worthy of it, and if it is withheld from him, then he has certainly been given a good deed (in its place)."
This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Bukhari, but the two Shaykhs did not record it with this wording; they recorded it in abridged form by way of al-A'mash, from Zayd bin Wahb, from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him).