Is there a hadith about looking at those are at a lower level than you financially?

If there is a hadith like that, what does it mean? How should we understand it? What does being at a lower level than you mean?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Two hadiths regarding the issue are as follows:

 انْظُرُوا إلى منْ هَوَ أَسفَلُ منْكُمْ وَلا تَنْظُرُوا إلى مَنْ فَوقَكُم فهُوَ أَجْدرُ أَن لا تَزْدَرُوا نعمةَ اللَّه عَليْكُمْ

إِذا نَظَر أَحَدُكُمْ إلى مَنْ فُضلَ عليهِ في المالِ وَالخَلْقِ فلْينْظُرْ إلى مَنْ هو أَسْفَلُ مِنْهُ

“Look at those who stand at a lower level than you but do not look at those who stand at a higher level than you. This will make the favors conferred upon you by Allah insignificant in your eyes.”  (Muslim, Zuhd 9)

“When one of you looks at one who stands at a higher level than you in regard to wealth and physical structure, he should also see one who stands at a lower level than you in regard to these things.” (Bukhari, Riqaq 30; Muslim, Zuhd 8)

The material and spiritual states of people in the world are not the same.

Some people are rich and some are poor. Some people are more pious and religious while others are lower than them.

Worldly wealth can be not only in terms of goods, property and money but also in terms of children, power, position, post, etc.

People often want to have those worldly things. A poor person looks at a rich person, a person who has no children at one who has children, a person who does not have a position and authority at one who has a position and authority and they want to be like them. However, it is not appropriate because there are people who are poorer than those who say they are poor, who are more ill than those who say they are ill.

Therefore, a Muslim cannot look at those who are better than him in terms of health and complain about it; on the contrary, he is to look at the patients who are worse than him in terms of health and thank Allah.  If his hand is broken, he should look at a person whose hand was cut off.  If he has only one eye, he should look at those who are blind and thank Allah.

In addition, there are so many people who have children and but who are not happy for any reason, have a high position but who cannot fulfill their duties.

If a person envies something, he should not envy such temporary things like that but permanent things that are valuable in the eye of Allah. He should envy a rich person who spends his wealth in the way of Allah. It is necessary to envy a person who is pious and religious, who has knowledge and uses his knowledge in the way of Allah. For, those characteristics are permanent and valuable in the eye of Allah.

For this reason, the Prophet recommends us to look at those who are lower than us in terms of worldly possessions. Thus, everybody will have the opportunity to praise and thank Allah for his state.

We learn the issue better from a narration regarding the issue:

“There are two traits, whoever has them in him, Allah writes him down as grateful and patient. And whoever does not have them, Allah does not write him down as grateful, nor patient.

Whoever looks at one above him for his religion, and follows him in it, and whoever looks at one who is below him in worldly matters, and praises Allah for the blessings He has favored the one who is above him with, then Allah writes him down as grateful and patient.

And whoever looks at one who is below him for his religion, and looks at one who is above him for worldly matters, and grieves over what missed him of it, Allah does not write him down as grateful nor as patient.” (Tirmidhi, Qiyamah 58)

Accordingly,

- It is suitable in terms of sunnah for a Muslim to look at people lower than him related to worldly affairs, goods, property and wealth and to look at people higher than him related to religious affairs and spiritual virtues.  

- Man should have the virtue of praising and thanking Allah for his state.

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