An Arabi came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked, "Messenger of Allah, who is the best of people?"He replied, "A man who strives with his life and his wealth, and a man in one of the mountain passes who worships his Lord and spares people from his harm."
جاء أعرابي إلى النبي ﷺ فقال: يا رسول الله، أي الناس خير؟ قال: رجل جاهد بنفسه وماله، ورجل في شعب من الشعاب يعبد ربه، ويدع الناس من شره.
Bukhari narrated it in the Book of Raqaiq (6494), and Muslim in the Book of Amarah (1888), both from the hadith of Uzai, from Zuhri, from Ata bin Yazid Laythi, from Abu Saeed Khudri, and he mentioned it.His saying, "in a mountain pass among the passes," does not mean the pass that lies between two mountains, but rather means solitude and withdrawal from people.It has been narrated from Umar bin Khattab that he said, "Take your share of seclusion."It has been narrated from Makhul that he said, if mixing with people is good, then in seclusion there is safety.It has been narrated from Wahib bin Ward that he said, it used to be said, wisdom consists of ten parts, nine of them in silence, and the tenth in withdrawal from people. He said, so I worked on myself to attain silence, but I did not find myself able to control it as I wished, so I saw that the best of these ten parts is the tenth of them, withdrawal from people.Naeem bin Hammad said, Ibn Mubarak used to sit a great deal in his house, so it was said to him, "Do you not feel lonely?" He said, "How could I feel lonely when I am with the Prophet ﷺ and his companions?"These reports were mentioned by Bayhaqi in the Book of Zuhd.