Al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man said: O Messenger of Allah, which people are best? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one whose life is long and whose deeds are good." Then it was said to him (peace and blessings be upon him): Which people are worst? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one whose life is long and whose deeds are bad."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الجنائز / 6525
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Busr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that two Bedouins came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked questions. One of them said: O Messenger of Allah, which people are best? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one whose life is long and whose deeds are righteous." Then the other said: O Messenger of Allah, the laws (branches) of Islam are many; tell me of one deed that I can hold fast to. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Let your tongue always remain moist with the remembrance of Allah."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الجنائز / 6526
Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shall I not tell you who the good ones among you are, as distinct from the bad ones?" They said: Certainly! He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best of you are those with the longest lives and the best deeds."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الجنائز / 6527
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shall I not tell you about the best among you?" The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said: Certainly, O Messenger of Allah! He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Those with the longest lives and the best deeds."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الجنائز / 6528
Sayyiduna Ubayd bin Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) established brotherhood (mu'akhah) between two men. One of them was killed and the other remained. Then he too died, and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) offered his funeral prayer. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What did you say about him?" They said: We prayed to Allah that Allah Almighty forgive him, have mercy on him, and join him with his brother. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then where are his prayers after the other's? Where are his deeds after the other's?" The narrator said: I think he (peace and blessings be upon him) also said: "Where are his fasts after the other's? By the One in whose hand is my soul, the distance between the two of them is like that between the heavens and the earth."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الجنائز / 6529
Sayyiduna Talhah bin Ubaydullah al-Taymi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that two men from the tribe of Bali came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) together and accepted Islam together. One of them strove hard in good deeds; he once took part in a military expedition and was martyred. The other lived for a year after him, then he too died. Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Once, in a dream, we were at the gate of Paradise, and I saw that I was with the two of them. Then someone came out of Paradise and gave permission to the one of the two who had died later. Then he went back and gave permission to the one who had been martyred. Then he came back to me and said: "Go back, your time has not yet come." In the morning Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) told the people about it, and they were amazed at it. This reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What are you amazed at?" They said: O Messenger of Allah, this one was the more hard-striving of the two, and he was also martyred in the path of Allah Almighty, yet he entered Paradise later, and the one who went later entered first. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Did he not live for a year after him, and reach the month of Ramadan and fast it?" They said: Certainly. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "And how many prostrations did he perform in the year?" They said: Certainly. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then the distance between the two of them is that between the heavens and the earth (in reward)."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الجنائز / 6530