Ibn Mas'ud told of the Prophet saying to his companions one day, “Show due respect towards God.” On their replying, “Prophet of God, we show due respect towards God, praise be to God,” he said, “That is not what I mean; but he who shows due respect to God must guard the head and what it retains, must guard the belly and what it contains, and keep death and decay in remembrance; and he who desires the next world must abandon the adornment of this world. He who does that has shown due respect towards God.”
Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it, the latter saying this is a gharib tradition.
وَعَن عبد الله بن عَمْرو قَالَ ك قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «تُحْفَةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ الْمَوْتُ» . رَوَاهُ الْبَيْهَقِيُّ فِي شُعَبِ الْإِيمَان
‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr reported God’s messenger as saying, ‘‘The gift to a believer is death.”( i.e. death is the means by which he gains an introduction to the delights of paradise.)
Mu'adh b. Jabal told of God’s messenger saying that if they wished he would tell them the first thing God would say to the believers on the day of resurrection and the first thing they would say to Him. When his hearers expressed a desire to be told, he said that God would say to the believers, “Did you wish to meet me?” and that they would reply, “Yes, our Lord.” He would ask them why, and they would reply that it was because they hoped for His forgiveness and pardon. He would then say, “My forgiveness has become necessary for you.”
transmitted it in Sharh as-sunna and Abu Nu'aim in al-Hilya.
