He said:

I heard the Messenger of Allah—may peace and blessings be upon him—say:

“On the Day of Resurrection the very first person whose case will be decided is a man who was martyred. He will be brought forward and Allah will remind him of His favors, which he will recognize. Then He will say, ‘What did you do with them?’ He will reply, ‘I fought for Your sake until I was martyred.’ He will say, ‘You have lied. You only fought so that people would say, “How brave he is,” and it has already been said.’ He will then be commanded, and he will be dragged on his face until he is flung into the Fire.

“Next a man who had acquired knowledge, taught it, and recited the Qur’an will be brought. Allah will remind him of His favors, which he will recognize. Then He will say, ‘What did you do with them?’ He will reply, ‘I learned knowledge, taught it, and recited the Qur’an for Your sake.’ He will say, ‘You have lied. You learned so that people would say, “He is a scholar,” and you recited so that they would say, “He is a reciter”—and it has already been said.’ He will then be ordered to be dragged on his face until he is cast into the Fire.

“Then a man whom Allah had made affluent, giving him all kinds of wealth, will be brought. Allah will remind him of His favors, which he will recognize. Then He will say, ‘What did you do with them?’ He will reply, ‘I neglected no path in which You love that wealth be spent without spending in it for Your sake.’ He will say, ‘You have lied. You did that only so that people would say, “He is generous,” and it has already been said.’ He will then be commanded, and he will be dragged on his face and thrown into the Fire.”

Al-Tirmidhī adds in his narration of this ḥadīth:

Then the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—struck my knee and said, “O Abū Hurayrah, those three are the first of Allah’s creation with whom the Fire will be kindled on the Day of Resurrection.”

Abū Hurayrah’s given name is ʿAbd Allāh; some say ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. He said, “I was nicknamed Abū Hurayrah because I once carried a kitten in my sleeve. The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—saw me and asked, ‘What is this?’ I answered, ‘A kitten.’ He said, ‘O Abū Hurayrah!’ ”

Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr commented: This ḥadīth concerns those whose deeds and knowledge were not intended for the Face of Allah, exalted is He.

It is also related from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—that he said, “Whoever seeks knowledge for other than Allah, or desires by it something other than Allah, let him take his seat in the Fire.”

Ibn al-Mubārak records in his Kitāb al-Raqāʾiq, from al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said:

“This religion will spread until it crosses the seas—until horses even wade through the seas in the path of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. Then there will come people who recite the Qur’an and, once they have done so, say, ‘Who among us recites better? Who is more learned than we are?’ ”

He then turned to his Companions and said, “Do you see any good in those people?” They replied, “No.” He said, “They are of you; they are of this Ummah; and they are the fuel of the Fire.”

Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī also narrated from Abū Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said, “Whoever acquires knowledge that should be sought solely for the Face of Allah, yet learns it only to obtain some worldly gain, shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection”—meaning its scent.

Al-Tirmidhī said: This ḥadīth is