The Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out one day and saw a tall, prominent dome. He asked, "What is this?"His companions replied, "It belongs to so-and-so, a man from the Ansar."He said nothing, but kept the matter in his heart. When the owner of the dome later came to greet the Messenger of Allah ﷺ among the people, the Prophet turned away from him. He did this several times, until the man recognized the Prophet's displeasure and his averted face. The man complained about this to his companions, saying, "By Allah, I find the Messenger of Allah ﷺ behaving strangely toward me."They said, "He went out and saw your dome."So the man returned to his dome and demolished it, leveling it to the ground. One day the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out and did not see it. He asked, "What happened to the dome?"They said, "Its owner complained to us about your turning away from him, so we told him the reason, and he demolished it."He said, "Indeed, every building is a burden upon its owner, except what cannot be avoided, except what cannot be avoided," meaning what is absolutely necessary.
أن رسول الله ﷺ خرج فرأى قبة مشرفة فقال: ما هذه؟ قال له أصحابه: هذه لفلان رجل من الأنصار، قال: فسكت وحملها في نفسه، حتى إذا جاء صاحبها رسول الله ﷺ في الناس أعرض عنه، صنع ذلك مرارا، حتى عرف الرجل الغضب فيه، والإعراض عنه، فشكا ذلك إلى أصحابه، فقال: والله إني لأنكر رسول الله ﷺ، قالوا: خرج فرأى قبتك، قال: فرجع الرجل إلى قبته فهدمها، حتى سواها بالأرض، فخرج رسول الله ﷺ ذات يوم، فلم يرها، قال: ما فعلت القبة؟ قالوا شكا إلينا صاحبها إعراضك عنه فأخبرناه فهدمها فقال: أما إن كل بناء وبال على صاحبه إلا ما لا إلا ما لا يعنى ما لا بد منه.
It was narrated by Abu Dawud (5237), Abu Yaala (4347), and Tahawi in Sharh Mushkil (956), all of them through Zuhayr bin Muawiya, who said, "Uthman bin Hakeem narrated to us, Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin Hatib Qurashi informed us, from Abu Talha Asadi, from Anas," and he mentioned it. Abu Talha Asadi has been narrated from by a group of people, and Ibn Hibban mentioned him among the reliable narrators, and he has been corroborated.It was narrated by Ibn Majah (4161) from Abbas bin Uthman Dimashqi, who said, "Walid bin Muslim narrated to us, who said, Isa bin Abdul-Ala bin Abu Farwa narrated to us, who said, Ishaq bin Abu Talha narrated to me, from Anas," and he mentioned it. Regarding Isa bin Abdul-Ala, Dhahabi said, "He is barely known," and Ibn Hajar said, "Unknown." However, there is no harm in using him as a corroborating narration, and with this corroboration the hadith rises to the level of hasan. Iraqi also judged it hasan in Takhrij al-Ihya (4/236).As for his saying, "Every building is a burden upon its owner, except for what is necessary," this means what one cannot do without. So the warning applies to whoever is excessive in building and boasts about it. But whoever builds according to his own need and the needs of his family and dependents bears no burden for that, and this is supported by the hadith of Ibn Umar that follows.