He heard the Prophet ﷺ say, "When Allah wills good for a servant, He puts him to use."Someone asked, "What does it mean that He puts him to use?"He replied, "He opens for him a path of righteous deeds before his death, so that those around him become pleased with him."
أنه سمع النبي ﷺ يقول: إذا أراد الله بعبد خيرا استعمله. قيل: وما استعمله؟ قال: يفتح له عمل صالح بين يدي موته، حتى يرضى عنه من حوله.
Imam Ahmad narrated it (21949), as did Bazzar in Kashf Astar (2155), Tabarani in Awsat - Majma Bahrayn (3263), and Bayhaqi in Qada wal-Qadar (1/379), all of them from the hadith of Muawiya bin Salih, who said, "Abdul-Rahman bin Jubayr bin Nufayr narrated to me, from his father, from Amr bin Hamiq Khuzai," and he related something similar, with the wording being Ahmad's.Ibn Hibban (342, 343) and Hakim (1/340) both graded it sahih, both of them via the route of Zayd bin Hubab with his isnad, similarly, except that they used the word "asalahu" instead of "istamalahu."Hakim said, "Sahih."I say, its isnad is hasan because of Muawiya bin Salih, who is Ibn Hudayr, for his narrations are hasan, and he is among the narrators of Muslim.As for his statement "asalahu," al-asal means sweet praise, derived from honey. It is said, "asala at-taam yasiluhu" (he honeyed the food), when honey is put into it. See Nihaya (3/237). It is as though he likened what Allah the Exalted had granted him of righteous deeds, through which his good name spread sweetly among his people, to honey put into food, which makes it sweet and pleasant. See Faiq (2/429).