Love of Wealth, Beneficial Knowledge, the Hereafter, and Honesty (Hadith 121–125)

1. Wealth, knowledge, deeds, and integrity

Wealth, knowledge, and other people's trust can all be valuable. Their true benefit depends on how they are used. Unchecked desire may make wealth feel insufficient, knowledge becomes fruitful when it helps others, and dishonesty destroys trust.

These five reports address attachment to wealth and long life, the benefit of sound religious understanding, the deeds that remain after death, honesty in conversation, and the harm of exploitative hoarding.

Arabic language points are introduced alongside the relevant reports, including يَهْرَمُ, إِنْ, يَرْجِعُ, خِيَانَةً, and بِئْسَ.

2. Hadith 121: Age increases, desire persists

يَهْرَمُ ابْنُ آدَمَ، وَيَشِبُّ مِنْهُ اثْنَانِ: الْحِرْصُ عَلَى الْمَالِ، وَالْحِرْصُ عَلَى الْعُمُرِ
The son of Adam grows old, while two traits remain youthful within him: craving for wealth and craving for a longer life.

Source: البخاري ومسلم

يَهْرَمُ means “grows old,” while يَشِبُّ conveys remaining young or vigorous. The vivid contrast is between an ageing body and desires for more wealth or more years that may remain strong.

اثْنَانِ means “two”; the following phrases identify them as الْحِرْصُ عَلَى الْمَالِ (craving for wealth) and الْحِرْصُ عَلَى الْعُمُرِ (craving for long life). This describes a common human weakness, not a judgment on every older individual.

3. Needs, planning, and greed

Saving for household expenses, lawful work, treatment, or education can be responsible planning. Ḥirṣ, in contrast, becomes harmful when acquiring more dominates gratitude, fairness, and responsibilities.

Example 1: A person saves prudently while honoring obligations and helping when able. That is planning, not necessarily greed.
Example 2: Another repeatedly breaks promises and harms customers for a larger profit. That reflects unchecked craving.

The parallel phrases عَلَى الْمَالِ and عَلَى الْعُمُرِ both use the preposition عَلَى, neatly pairing the two desires.

4. Wanting long life and valuing time

The desire for more years is not wrong in itself; a longer life can be used for worship, learning, and service. The warning is against endless craving that prevents a person from using the time already available.

Example: One student keeps postponing study and good deeds while waiting for a perfect opportunity. Another makes a manageable, consistent effort today. The second is making better use of time.

ابْنُ آدَمَ is an iḍāfah construction: ابْنُ is the first noun and آدَمَ the second. It refers broadly to humankind in this context.

5. The contrast: yahramu and yashibbu

يَهْرَمُ comes from the root ه ر م and يَشِبُّ from ش ب ب. Both are present-tense verbs, but one describes ageing and the other youth or renewed vigor. Their contrast makes the teaching memorable.

In وَيَشِبُّ مِنْهُ اثْنَانِ, the word اثْنَانِ is the subject of the verb. Its dual ending indicates two things.

The practical lesson is that advancing age does not automatically remove desire. Contentment and self-discipline still require effort.

6. Hadith 122: Knowledge expressed in service

نِعْمَ الرَّجُلُ الْفَقِيهُ فِي الدِّينِ، إِنِ احْتِيجَ إِلَيْهِ، نَفَعَ، وَإِنِ اسْتُغْنِيَ عَنْهُ، أَغْنَى نَفْسَهُ
What an excellent person is one well-versed in religion: when needed, he benefits others; when not needed, he remains self-sufficient.

Source: رواه رزين

نِعْمَ is a word of praise: “how excellent.” الْفَقِيهُ فِي الدِّينِ means a person with understanding of religion who puts that understanding to proper use. The report describes two outcomes: helping people when needed, and not becoming an unnecessary burden when not needed.

In إِنِ احْتِيجَ إِلَيْهِ نَفَعَ, إِنْ introduces a condition (“if”). احْتِيجَ is a passive past verb, “was needed,” while نَفَعَ means “he benefited [others].” The sentence connects knowledge directly to service.

7. Understanding religion and useful guidance

Beneficial religious learning is more than memorizing terms. It involves understanding accurately, applying knowledge in context, speaking with care, and meeting real needs. Where one does not know, responsible guidance includes referring the question to qualified scholars rather than guessing.

Example 1: Explain a familiar basic matter of worship clearly when asked.
Example 2: Where an issue is complex, acknowledge the need for further learning instead of inventing an answer.

الْفَقِيهُ is related to فِقْه, which includes understanding and insight. The emphasis here is on knowledge that bears useful fruit.

8. Helping when needed; self-sufficiency otherwise

The second condition, وَإِنِ اسْتُغْنِيَ عَنْهُ أَغْنَى نَفْسَهُ, addresses the opposite situation. If others do not need his help, he remains self-reliant and does not impose himself on them.

This is not a call to withdraw selfishly from people. One should help when genuinely needed, yet avoid seeking influence or attention when one's involvement is unnecessary.

اسْتُغْنِيَ is a passive past verb. In أَغْنَى نَفْسَهُ, نَفْسَهُ is the direct object. The two conditional clauses teach balance.

9. Knowledge as a trust and responsible service

A teacher or knowledgeable person should answer in a way that fits the questioner's need and level. Excessive jargon may obscure an otherwise helpful answer, while agreeing with an error merely to please the questioner compromises the trust of knowledge.

Example: When a beginner asks about a simple grammar rule, a clear definition, one example, and correction of a likely misunderstanding are more useful than an unrelated technical debate.

نَفَعَ and أَغْنَى are both past-tense verbs. They describe beneficial actions rather than a title or social status alone.

10. Hadith 123: What remains with the deceased?

يَتْبَعُ الْمَيِّتَ ثَلَاثَةٌ، فَيَرْجِعُ اثْنَانِ، وَيَبْقَى مَعَهُ وَاحِدٌ: يَتْبَعُهُ أَهْلُهُ، وَمَالُهُ، وَعَمَلُهُ، فَيَرْجِعُ أَهْلُهُ، وَمَالُهُ، وَيَبْقَى عَمَلُهُ
Three things follow the deceased; two return and one remains with him: his family, wealth, and deeds follow him. His family and wealth return, while his deeds remain.

Source: البخاري ومسلم

يَتْبَعُ means “follows,” يَرْجِعُ “returns,” and يَبْقَى “remains.” The narration names three followers: أَهْلُهُ (family), مَالُهُ (wealth), and عَمَلُهُ (deeds). It then explains that two return while one remains.

The contrast between ثَلَاثَةٌ (“three”) and اثْنَانِ (“two”) makes the message easy to remember: worldly companionship has limits, while a person's deeds have lasting consequences. This is a reminder of accountability in the Hereafter.

11. The three companions in sequence

What followsWhat happens afterward?
أَهْلُهُ — familyReturn after the burial
مَالُهُ — wealthRemains in this world
عَمَلُهُ — deedsTheir consequences and accountability endure

The narration does not condemn family or property. Supporting family and earning lawfully may themselves be righteous deeds. Its point is that worldly attachments do not automatically constitute provision for the Hereafter unless they are connected to good actions.

The pronoun هُ in مَعَهُ and عَمَلُهُ refers to the deceased.

12. Turning resources into enduring deeds

Wealth and time can be means of righteous action. Honesty in lawful earnings, caring for dependents, helping others, repaying debts, and protecting rights are all matters for which people are responsible.

Example 1: Someone uses income to support dependents fairly and repays a debt on time. Wealth has become a means of good conduct.
Example 2: Another person accumulates property for status but neglects obligations. Possessions alone do not guarantee a good outcome.

The present verbs فَيَرْجِعُ (“returns”) and وَيَبْقَى (“remains”) express the striking contrast between what ends and what endures.

13. Value of family and wealth—within limits

Mentioning family and wealth among the things that return is not a dismissal of their value. Loving and supporting relatives, dealing justly with them, and managing inheritance fairly are meaningful duties. The lesson is to keep those responsibilities directed toward righteous conduct.

Example: A person handles an estate honestly and does not withhold the lawful rights of heirs. How the wealth was handled is itself part of the person's record of deeds.

In يَبْقَى عَمَلُهُ, عَمَلُهُ is the subject of يَبْقَى. The emphasis is on the persistence of deeds, not contempt for family or property.

14. Hadith 124: Lying to someone who trusts you

كَبُرَتْ خِيَانَةً أَنْ تُحَدِّثَ أَخَاكَ حَدِيثًا هُوَ لَكَ مُصَدِّقٌ وَأَنْتَ بِهِ كَاذِبٌ
It is a grave betrayal to tell your brother something when he believes you, although you are lying to him.

Source: رواه أبو داود

كَبُرَتْ خِيَانَةً strongly condemns betrayal. أَنْ تُحَدِّثَ أَخَاكَ means “that you tell your brother,” and هُوَ لَكَ مُصَدِّقٌ means “while he believes you.” The wrong is not merely a mistaken detail: it is knowingly exploiting another person's trust.

خِيَانَةً is an accusative specification (tamyīz) describing the gravity of the act. وَأَنْتَ بِهِ كَاذِبٌ is a circumstantial nominal clause: the listener trusts, while the speaker knows he is lying. The contrast deepens the meaning.

15. Trust itself is part of truthful communication

Family, study, work, and friendship all involve reliance on what others say. Deliberately lying when someone trusts you does double harm: it conceals truth and damages that trust.

Example 1: Someone obtains a loan by deliberately misstating their plan or ability to repay.
Example 2: A teacher confidently asserts a matter without knowledge merely to avoid admitting uncertainty. Responsible teaching requires recognizing one's limits.

مُصَدِّقٌ (“one who believes”) and كَاذِبٌ (“one who lies”) are active participles. Their contrast brings the moral problem into focus.

16. Mistake, forgetfulness, and deliberate deception

An honest factual mistake and a deliberate lie are not the same. Yet once a mistake is discovered, refusing to correct it or continuing to exploit someone's reliance can deepen the harm.

Example 1: A person gives an incorrect date and promptly corrects it after checking.
Example 2: A person knowingly gives a false date so another party will suffer a loss. That is deception.

حَدِيثًا here means a statement or report; it is not restricted to the technical meaning of a Prophetic hadith. The suffix كَ in أَخَاكَ means “your.”

17. The circumstantial clause: belief versus deception

هُوَ لَكَ مُصَدِّقٌ وَأَنْتَ بِهِ كَاذِبٌ depicts two simultaneous conditions: the listener believes, while the speaker is lying. That contrast highlights the betrayal.

In the first nominal clause, هُوَ is the subject and مُصَدِّقٌ the predicate. In the second, أَنْتَ is the subject and كَاذِبٌ the predicate. بِهِ refers to the reported matter.

When unsure, saying “I have not verified this” is better than pretending certainty and abusing someone's confidence.

18. Hadith 125: Hoarding and public hardship

بِئْسَ الْعَبْدُ الْمُحْتَكِرُ، إِنْ أَرْخَصَ اللَّهُ الْأَسْعَارَ، حَزِنَ، وَإِنْ أَغْلَاهَا، فَرِحَ
How blameworthy is the hoarder: when Allah makes prices low, he grieves; and when He makes them high, he rejoices.

Source: البيهقي

بِئْسَ is used for condemnation: “how blameworthy.” الْمُحْتَكِرُ is a hoarder who withholds needed goods in circumstances of public need to exploit higher prices. The narration exposes a distorted attitude: sadness when prices fall and happiness when they rise.

إِنْ أَرْخَصَ اللَّهُ الْأَسْعَارَ حَزِنَ is a conditional structure: “if prices fall, he grieves.” وَإِنْ أَغْلَاهَا فَرِحَ supplies the opposite condition and response. The two reactions expose selfishness.

19. The harm of exploiting scarcity

When food or other necessities are scarce, deliberately withholding supplies to create or worsen scarcity can harm the public. The concern is not every ordinary fluctuation in market prices but the attempt to profit from others' hardship.

Example: During a shortage, a trader hides a large stock of essential food in order to make supplies appear scarcer and sell later at inflated prices. Low-income families may suffer most.

الْمُحْتَكِرُ is an active participle connected to اِحْتِكَار (hoarding). The criticism concerns the harmful practice and the attitude behind it.

20. Ordinary inventory versus exploitative hoarding

Not all storing or commercial inventory is the same. Keeping reasonable household supplies, maintaining ordinary shop stock, and planning for legitimate future needs are different from withholding essential goods during acute public need to exploit scarcity.

Example 1: A shopkeeper stocks necessities and sells them through ordinary trade.
Example 2: Another withholds urgently needed goods solely to force abnormal price increases.

حَزِنَ (“he grieved”) and فَرِحَ (“he rejoiced”) are past-tense verbs with opposite meanings. Their contrast reveals the attitude criticized in the narration.

21. Prices and conditional clauses

إِنْ أَرْخَصَ اللَّهُ الْأَسْعَارَ حَزِنَ
Here إِنْ means “if,” أَرْخَصَ “made cheaper,” الْأَسْعَارَ “prices,” and حَزِنَ “he grieved.”

وَإِنْ أَغْلَاهَا فَرِحَ
Here أَغْلَى means “made more expensive,” and هَا refers to prices.

Each condition is followed by a response. The parallel clauses expose opposing attitudes. A general rise in prices does not by itself prove a trader acted wrongly; the criticism concerns exploitation of public need.

22. Integrity and concern for others in the market

A trader may legitimately seek income, but honesty and respect for others' needs remain important. Treating public hardship as a source of personal triumph allows greed to displace goodwill.

Example: During a crisis, spreading false stock information, deliberately manufacturing shortages, or withholding urgently needed goods for exploitative gain harms consumers.

The narration begins بِئْسَ الْعَبْدُ الْمُحْتَكِرُ. بِئْسَ is a special verb of blame; it identifies the blameworthy hoarder rather than condemning all business activity.

23. Five narrations, one ethical framework

HadithCore teaching
121Restrain unchecked desire
122Use knowledge to benefit others
123Deeds endure beyond worldly possessions
124Do not exploit trust with a deliberate lie
125Do not profit exploitatively from public need

The first and last narrations expose harmful attachment to wealth. The middle narrations develop beneficial knowledge, lasting deeds, and honesty. Together they call for keeping personal desire subordinate to fairness, others' rights, and accountability in the Hereafter.

24. Applying the teachings in everyday decisions

These narrations illuminate everyday choices:
1. Distinguish financial planning from unchecked greed.
2. Offer informed help when qualified; do not guess beyond one's knowledge.
3. Use time and possessions in ways consistent with lasting accountability.
4. Never deliberately spread a false report under the appearance of certainty.
5. Avoid exploiting people's urgent need for the sake of profit.

Remembering words such as نَفَعَ, يَبْقَى, مُصَدِّقٌ, and الْمُحْتَكِرُ also helps learners recall each ethical point.

25. Key vocabulary and sentence patterns

ExpressionMeaning or pattern
يَهْرَمُ / يَشِبُّGrows old / remains youthful
إِنِ احْتِيجَ إِلَيْهِIf needed — conditional clause
يَرْجِعُ / يَبْقَىReturns / remains
مُصَدِّقٌ / كَاذِبٌBelieving / lying
بِئْسَ / الْمُحْتَكِرُHow blameworthy / the hoarder

Three patterns stand out: (1) present-tense verbs describe actions or states; (2) إِنْ introduces a condition; and (3) contrasts bring meaning into sharper focus. These points have been explained with their respective hadiths rather than as an isolated grammar chapter.