(171) It is related by Abu Hurairah that the Apostle of God said: “The bondsman says, ‘My property ! My property !' though in the whole of his worldly possessions what is really his falls only into three categories: (i) what he has eaten and finished up; (ii) what he has worn and made old; and, (iii) what he has given away in charity and made a provision for the Hereafter. Apart from it, what the bondsman possesses is going to be left behind by him for others and he himself shall depart from the world one day.”
-Muslim
Commentary.-It tells that out of the wealth a man earns or saves in this world, only that is really his which he spends on his own needs like food and clothing or in the way of God, and, thus, stores it up for use in the Hereafter. What he possesses, apart from it, does not belong to him but to his successors into whose hands it is going to pass after his death.
(172) It is related by Abdullah bin Masud that the Apostle of God [once] asked, “Who among you is such that the property of his heir be dearer to him than his own [i.e., who may prefer wealth not to come into his own hands but into the hands of his successors]?” “With all of us,” the Companions replied, “the case is that we love our own property more than the property of our heirs [i.e., none of us will like that, instead of him, his successors should come into wealth]” Upon it, the Prophet said, “When it is so, know that a man's property is only that which he sends in advance, and whatever of it he keeps back is not his but of his successors [A wise man should, therefore, be more concerned with making his wealth an asset for the Hereafter than leaving it behind to his heirs, and the way to it that instead of hoarding gold and silver he spent it on charitable works as well].”
-Bukhari
(173) Abu Hurairah related to us from the Prophet that “when a person dies, the angels ask [him] what did he send in advance for himself [i.e., what good needs he had done and how much had he deposited in the Treasury of God for his use in Futurity]? The common people, on the other hand, inquire among themselves what property did he leave behind.”
-Baihaqi