Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
Qurʾān Bukhārī Muslim Nasāʾī Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Ibn Mājah Mālik Aḥmad Dārimī Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī
ahmad-zuhd:802 – ʿAbdullāh from my father > Rawḥ > ʿAwf > Balaghanī

[Machine] To her, O mother of Zarr, indeed before us there is a difficult and challenging obstacle, and indeed avoiding it is easier than bearing its weight.  

الزهد لأحمد:٨٠٢ – حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي حَدَّثَنَا رَوْحٌ حَدَّثَنَا عَوْفٌ قَالَ بَلَغَنِي أَنَّ أُمَّ ذَرٍّ عَاتَبَتْ أَبَا ذَرٍّ فِي مَعِيشَتِهِمَا فَقَالَ

لَهَا يَا أُمَّ ذَرٍّ إِنَّ بَيْنَ أَيْدِينَا عَقَبَةً كَئُودًا وَإِنَّ الْمُخِفَّ فِيهَا أَهْوَنُ مِنَ الْمُثْقِلِ  

See similar narrations below:

Collected by Aḥmad's Zuhd
ahmad-zuhd:739 – ʿAbdullāh > Bayān b. al-Ḥakam > Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. Ḥātim > Bishr b. al-Ḥārith > ʿĪsá b. Yūnus > al-Aʿmash ʿAmman > Um al-Dardāʾ > Āshtakat > Abū al-Dardāʾ Fanāʾ al-Daqīq

[Machine] Indeed, ahead of us is a challenging obstacle, where the lightened burden in it is better than the heavy one.  

الزهد لأحمد:٧٣٩ – حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ حَدَّثَنِي بَيَانُ بْنُ الْحَكَمِ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ حَاتِمٍ حَدَّثَنِي بِشْرُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ أَنْبَأَنَا عِيسَى بْنُ يُونُسَ عَنِ الْأَعْمَشِ عَمَّنْ أَخْبَرَهُ عَنْ أُمِّ الدَّرْدَاءِ أَنَّهَا اشْتَكَتْ إِلَى أَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ فَنَاءَ الدَّقِيقِ فَقَالَ

إِنَّ أَمَامَنَا عَقَبَةً كَئُودًا الْمُخَفِّفُ فِيهَا خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْمُثْقِلِ