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
quran:43:56 –

And We made them a precedent and an example for the later peoples.  

And We made them a thing past (salaf, is the plural of sālif, similar ˹in pattern˺ to khādim, khadam) that is to say, a precedent, as a lesson, and an example for others, after them, that they ˹posterity˺ might take their predicament as a lesson and so not engage in actions similar to theirs.
القرآن:٤٣:٥٦ –

فَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ سَلَفًا وَمَثَلًا لِلْآخِرِينَ  

{فجعلناهم سلفاً} جمع سالف كخادم وخدم أي سابقين غيره {ومثلا للآخرين} بعدهم يتمثلون بحالهم فلا يقدمون على مثل أفعالهم.