Abu Saeed Khudri reported,

The Prophet ﷺ planted a stick in the ground before him, then planted another beside it, then planted a third one farther away. He then asked, "Do you know what this represents?"They replied, "Allah and His Messenger know best."He said, "This is man, this is his appointed time of death, and that one farther out is his hope. He keeps reaching for his hope, but his appointed time snatches him away before he can attain it."

حدثنا عبد الملك بن عمرو حدثنا علي بن علي عن أبي المتوكل

عن أبي سعيد الخدري

أن النبي ﷺ غرز بين يديه غرزا ثم غرز إلى جنبه آخر ثم غرز الثالث فأبعده ثم قال هل تدرون ما هذا قالوا الله ورسوله أعلم قال هذا الإنسان وهذا أجله وهذا أمله يتعاطى الأمل والأجل يختلجه دون ذلك