The question that stopped him for a long time
A man asked whether good can bring evil.
إِنَّ أَكْثَرَ مَا أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ مَا يُخْرِجُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ مِنْ بَرَكَاتِ الأَرْضِ
Inna akthara mā akhāfu ʿalaykum mā yukhriju-Llāhu lakum min barakāti-l-arḍ
“What I fear most for you is what Allah will bring out for you of the blessings of the earth.”
Where this comes from
They asked what the blessings of the earth were. He said: the flowering of this world. Then a man asked whether good brings evil, and he went silent so long they thought revelation was coming. Then he wiped his brow and said: where is the questioner.
The full narration
Narrated Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The thing I am afraid of most for your sake, is the worldly blessings which Allah will bring forth to you." It was said, "What are the blessings of this world?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The pleasures of the world." A man said, "Can the good bring forth evil?" The Prophet (ﷺ) kept quiet for a while till we thought that he was being inspired divinely. Then he started removing the sweat from his forehead and said," Where is the questioner?" That man said, "I (am present)." Abu Sa`id added: We thanked the man when the result (of his question) was such. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Good never brings forth but good. This wealth (of the world) is (like) green and sweet (fruit), and all the vegetation which grows on the bank of a stream either kills or nearly kills the animal that eats too much of it, except the animal that eats the Khadira (a kind of vegetation). Such an animal eats till its stomach is full and then it faces the sun and starts ruminating and then it passes out dung and urine and goes to eat again. This worldly wealth is (like) sweet (fruit), and if a person earns it (the wealth) in a legal way and spends it properly, then it is an excellent helper, and whoever earns it in an illegal way, he will be like the one who eats but is never satisfied
Source
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · 6427
- Agreed upon as authentic (al-Bukhārī / Muslim)