Ibn Hibban

Abu Imran Aslami narrates: We were in a city of the Romans when a large army from the Romans confronted us. From our side also, a large army went forth, perhaps even larger than theirs. In those days, the governor of Egypt was Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him), who was a companion of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). A Muslim man entered the ranks of the Romans. The people cried out loudly: "Subhan Allah! You are throwing yourself into destruction with your own hands." Then Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said: "O people! You interpret this verse in this way, whereas this verse was revealed about us, the Ansar. When Allah Almighty granted dominance to Islam and its supporters became numerous, some of us secretly said to one another: 'Your wealth has been lost, and Allah Almighty has honored Islam and increased its supporters. Now, if we pay attention to our agriculture and try to make up for our losses (would that be appropriate)?' So Allah Almighty revealed to His Prophet a message in which He answered us: 'Spend in the way of Allah, and do not throw yourselves into destruction with your own hands, and do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.' So destruction is this: that a man remains occupied with his agriculture and tries to improve it, and abandons fighting (in Allah's cause)." The narrator states: After this, Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) always strove in the path of Allah until he was buried in the land of the Romans.