Musnad Ahmad Hadith 7987

Qais (may Allah have mercy on him) says that once Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) was our guest in Kufa. He had some relations of kinship with our masters. We went to him to greet him, so my father said to him, "O Abu Hurairah, these are your kinsmen who have come to serve you so that they may greet you and you may narrate to them a hadith of the Noble Prophet (ﷺ)." Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) welcomed us and said, "I remained in the company of the Noble Prophet (ﷺ) for three years. Among the group of companions, during those three years, there was no one more devoted to memorizing hadith than me. I heard the Noble Prophet (ﷺ) say: 'By Allah, if any one of you were to take a rope, gather firewood, carry it on his back, and earn his livelihood from it, eating from it himself and giving charity as well, this is far better than going to a man whom Allah has blessed with wealth and asking him for something—whether he gives or withholds.' Then, gesturing with his hand, he said: 'Near the Day of Judgment, you will fight against a people whose faces will be like flat shields and whose shoes will be made of hair.'"