This one is better than an earthful of the other
Authentic hadithعن سهل بن سعد الساعدي رضي الله عنه قال: مَرَّ رجلٌ على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال لرجل عنده جالسٌ: «ما رأيُك في هَذا؟»، فقال: رجل من أَشراف الناس، هذا والله حَرِيٌّ إن خَطب أن يُنْكَحَ، وإن شَفع أن يُشَفَّعَ، فَسكت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ثم مرَّ رجلٌ آخر، فقال له رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : «ما رأيُك في هذا؟» فقال: يا رسول الله، هذا رجلٌ من فقراء المسلمين، هذا حَرِيٌّ إن خَطب أن لا يُنْكَحَ، وإن شَفَعَ أن لا يُشَفَّعَ، وإن قال أن لا يُسمع لقوله، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : «هذا خَيرٌ من مِلءِ الأرض مثل هذا».
Sahl ibn Sa‘d As-Sā‘idi (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a man passed by the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) so he said to a man who was sitting with him: "What do you say about this man?" He replied: "He is one of the noblest of people. By Allah, if he proposes marriage his proposal deserves to be accepted, and if he intercedes his intercession deserves to be accepted." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent. Then another man passed by. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What do you think about this man?" He replied: "O Messenger of Allah, this is one of the poor Muslims. If he proposes marriage he does not deserve to get married, and if he intercedes his intercession does not deserve to be accepted, and if he speaks he does not deserve to be listened to." The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "This one (the second) is better than an earthful of the other (the first).”
Explanation
Meaning: Two men passed by the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). One of them was from the noblest of the people, who had influence among them. He would be accepted if he proposed in marriage, and would be listened to if he spoke. The other man was the opposite; from the weak Muslims who had no status among the people. If he proposed in marriage, he would not be accepted; if he interceded, his intercession would be rejected; and if he spoke, he would not be listened to. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “This one (the second) is better than an earthful of the other (the first).” He means that he is better in the sight of Allah, the Almighty, than an earthful of the other man who had a noble status and influence among his people because Allah, the Exalted, does not look at a person’s status, influence, lineage, wealth, appearance, clothes, mounts (the vehicle they ride), or his houses. Allah looks at their hearts and their deeds. Another Hadīth reads: “Verily, Allah does not look at your appearances or your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds.” If the heart is of a person sound with respect to what is between himself and Allah, the Almighty, turns to Him, becomes mindful of Him, is diligent to the rights of Allah, shows humility to Him, strives to do what pleases Him, then this indeed is the person who is noble in the sight of Allah. He is the one who holds a high status with Allah. He is the one who, if he were to take an oath in the name of Allah, Allah would fulfill his oath.
Source · Narrated by Bukhari
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).