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.
tirmidhi:2266Aḥmad b. Saʿīd al-Ashqar > Yūnus b. Muḥammad And Hāshim b. al-Qāsim > Ṣāliḥ al-Murrī > Saʿīd al-Jurayrī > Abū ʿUthmān al-Nahdī > Abū Hurayrah

"When your leaders are the best of you, the richest are the most generous among you, and your affairs are consulted among you, then the surface of the earth is better for you than its belly. And when your leaders are the worst of you, the richest are the stingiest among you, and your affairs are referred to your women, then the belly of the earth is better for you than its surface."  

الترمذي:٢٢٦٦حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الأَشْقَرُ حَدَّثَنَا يُونُسُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ وَهَاشِمُ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا صَالِحٌ الْمُرِّيُّ عَنْ سَعِيدٍ الْجُرَيْرِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي عُثْمَانَ النَّهْدِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِذَا كَانَ أُمَرَاؤُكُمْ خِيَارَكُمْ وَأَغْنِيَاؤُكُمْ سُمَحَاءَكُمْ وَأُمُورُكُمْ شُورَى بَيْنَكُمْ فَظَهْرُ الأَرْضِ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ مِنْ بَطْنِهَا وَإِذَا كَانَ أُمَرَاؤُكُمْ شِرَارَكُمْ وَأَغْنِيَاؤُكُمْ بُخَلاَءَكُمْ وَأُمُورُكُمْ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ فَبَطْنُ الأَرْضِ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ مِنْ ظَهْرِهَا  

قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ حَدِيثِ صَالِحٍ الْمُرِّيِّ وَصَالِحٌ الْمُرِّيُّ فِي حَدِيثِهِ غَرَائِبُ يَنْفَرِدُ بِهَا لاَ يُتَابَعُ عَلَيْهَا وَهُوَ رَجُلٌ صَالِحٌ

See similar narrations below:

Collected by Suyūṭī
suyuti:2537a

"When your leaders are the best of you, the richest are the most generous among you, and your affairs are consulted among you, then the surface of the earth is better for you than its belly. And when your leaders are the worst of you, the richest are the stingiest among you, and your affairs are referred to your women, then the belly of the earth is better for you than its surface." (Using translation from Tirmidhī 2266)   

السيوطي:٢٥٣٧a

"إذَا كانَتْ أمراؤُكُم خيارَكُمْ، وأغنياؤُكُمْ سُمَحاءَكُمْ، وأمورُكُمْ شُورى بينكُمْ، فظهرُ الأرُضِ خيرٌ لكم مِنْ بطنها، وإذا كانتْ أُمَراؤُكُمْ شرارَكُمْ. وأغْنياؤُكُمْ بُخَلاءَكُمْ وأمورُكُمْ إلى نسائِكُمْ، فبطنُ الأرْضِ خيرٌ لكُمْ مِنْ ظَهْرِها" .  

[ت] الترمذي غريب، وابن جرير عن أبي هريرة