What has come in Reference to this World and One who Seeks it — Hadith 11

11. Faḍālah narrated from Abān ibn ʿUthmān, from Salamah ibn Abī Ḥafṣ, from Abū ʿAbdillāh, from his father (a), from Jābir who said, “The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) passed by the market and approached [one of the shops] seeking to buy some perfume, while the people had surrounded him. Then he passed by a dead goat with its ears cut, lying in a rubbish heap, so he took hold of it by its [severed] ear and asked, ‘Who among you would want to buy this for a dirham? ’ They said, ‘We would not like to buy this for any amount – what would we do with it? ’ He said, ‘Would you not like to possess it? ’ They said, ‘No! ’ He (ṣ) repeated that [question] thrice, so they said, ‘By Allah, even if it were alive it would be flawed, so how about now when it is dead! ’ The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Verily the [material] world is less valuable to Allah than this [dead goat] is to you. ’”