Hadith:
‘Amr bin ‘Auf Al-Ansari (RadiyAllahu Anhu) reported: Messenger of Allah (Sallellahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) sent Abu `Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah (RadiyAllahu Anhu) to Bahrain to collect (Jizyah). So he returned from Bahrain with wealth. The Ansar got news of it and joined with the Prophet (Sallellahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) in the Fajr prayer. When the Prophet (Sallellahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) concluded the prayer, they stood in his way. When he saw them, he smiled and said, “I think you have heard about the arrival of Abu `Ubaidah with something from Bahrain”. They said, “Yes! O Messenger of Allah!”. He (Sallellahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, “Rejoice and hope for that which will please you. By Allah, it is not poverty that I fear for you, but I fear that this world will be opened up with its wealth for you as it was opened to those before you; and you vie with one another over it as they did and eventually it will ruin you as it ruined them”.
[Muslim]
Commentary:
We learn from this Hadith that, from the religious angle, poverty of an individual or nation is not as dangerous as its affluence. For this reason, the Prophet (Sallellahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) cautioned his Ummah against the consequences of abundance of wealth and warned his followers to save themselves from its evils. We witness today that all his fears have come true. The excess of wealth has made the majority of rich extremely careless about their religious obligations. It is this negligence and evasion from religion about which the Prophet (Sallellahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) had expressed grave fear.