While we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, a young man appeared before us coming from the mountain pass. When we caught sight of him, we said, "If only this young man would devote his youth, energy, and strength to the cause of Allah."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ heard what we said and replied, "Is the cause of Allah only for one who is killed in battle? Whoever strives to support his parents is in the cause of Allah. Whoever strives to support his family is in the cause of Allah. Whoever strives to provide for himself to keep himself chaste is in the cause of Allah. But whoever strives merely to amass wealth is in the cause of Satan."
بينما نحن جلوس مع رسول الله ﷺ إذ طلع علينا شاب من الثنية، فلما رأيناه بأبصارنا قلنا: لو أن هذا الشاب جعل شبابه ونشاطه وقوته في سبيل الله، قال: فسمع مقالتنا رسول الله ﷺ قال: وما سبيل الله إلا من قتل؟ من سعى على والديه ففي سبيل الله، ومن سعى على عياله ففي سبيل الله، ومن سعى على نفسه ليعفها ففي سبيل الله، ومن سعى على التكاثر فهو في سبيل الشيطان.
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Bazzar narrated it in Kashf Astar (1871), and Tabarani in Awsat (4372), and Bayhaqi in Kubra (9/25), the wording here being his, all of them through the route of Riyah bin Amr Qaysi, who said, Ayub narrated to us, from Muhammad bin Sirin, from Abu Hurairah, who said, and then he related it.Haythami said in Majma (8/144), "Bazzar and Tabarani narrated it in Awsat, and among its narrators is Riyah bin Amr, whom Abu Hatim, meaning Ibn Hibban, deemed trustworthy, while others deemed him daif, and the rest of its narrators are narrators of the Sahih."Its chain is hasan because of Riyah bin Amr Qaysi, who is Abu Muhajir Zahid Kufi. Abu Zura said, he is truthful, and Ibn Hibban mentioned him among the trustworthy narrators.The meaning of his statement, "Whoever strives for the sake of amassing more is on the path of Satan," is that whoever strives for the purpose of boasting about wealth and children, as in the revelation, "Competition in increase has diverted you" [Takathur 102:1]. Otherwise, earning wealth through lawful means is required by the sacred law, such as trade, farming, and the like, so that the community of Muslims may be a strong community in the face of the disbelievers.