مَا قَلَّ وَكَفَى خَيْرٌ مِمَّا كَثُرَ وَأَلْهَى
What is little yet sufficient is better than what is abundant but distracts and makes one heedless.
Source: Abu Nuʿaym.
The comparison concerns effects, not numbers alone. On one side is قَلَّ وَكَفَى: something limited but sufficient. On the other is كَثُرَ وَأَلْهَى: something abundant that distracts a person from remembrance of Allah and important responsibilities.
قَلَّ means “was little,” كَفَى “sufficed,” كَثُرَ “became abundant,” and أَلْهَى “distracted or made heedless.” خَيْرٌ supplies “better” in the comparison.
The lesson points toward contentment and balance. Something inadequate is not automatically commendable for being small; abundance alone does not establish the heedlessness being criticized.