You mentioned the hadeeth of labor and you mentioned that hard labor is blessed, so are the earnings from the hard labor the only blessed and good earnings?

What the Prophet Mohammed (ﷺ) had said was that the ‘best of earnings’[1], he didn’t say the ‘only earnings’ that are good, instead he labeled it as ‘the best’. This involves any work that produces something for the society; this is the best of the earnings.  If your occupation is a white-collar job, this doesn’t mean that Allah doesn’t bless you if you deal with your job in an honest fashion or that you are not blessed with the earning.  The important point to remember is that with everything there is ‘something better’ and there is ‘the best’.

This statement of the Prophet Mohammed (ﷺ) is protection for the working class in the society, because there is the tendency for society to look down on the working class, especially by those who become rich, powerful etc. who are not involved in physical labor. Yet a white-collar worker is also involved, to a certain degree in physical work, whether he is coming to the office, writing, moving his papers here and there. However, the one who is outside of physical labor altogether whereby he owns and people work for him, this person tends to be in a much more dangerous position, especially as this wealth can corrupt this individual. He has much more obligations and most often he doesn’t fulfill them, this is the reason why the Prophet Mohammed (ﷺ) talked about a poor entering paradise so many hundreds of years before the rich[2].

Being rich is in and of itself not haraam or prohibited in Islam, but the concern lies in what tends to happen to people when they become rich. Thus Islam stresses the dignity of hard labor or craftsmanship or working with one’s hands, being productive, producing the needs of the society, because these laborers are fulfilling a greater need.  It is for this reason that Islam puts the position of a laborer in a state of honor, because historically societies have looked down upon such work.

Furthermore, if a person ends up being an owner but remains an honest businessman who pays his workers on time, gives them reasonable salaries and so forth, then his honest dealings and wealth is blessed. The Prophet (ﷺ) did not say the person would be blessed only if he is doing hard labor. The emphasis for hard labor is primarily due to society’s attitude towards hard labor; especially the elite members of the society who tend to look down upon laborers. This creates disregard for people because of their position, who are labeled as the‘lower class’ or outcastes who are regarded as insignificant, which further leads to development of inferiority complex amongst Muslims. Islam aims to remove these negative attitudes and perceptions and encourages laborers to take pride in their honest hard work. This attitude is further reiterated in the story of Prophet Dawood alahi salam, the king of Israel, who worked with his own hands and ate only from the product of his manual work.[3]

The important point to remember regarding this hadith is that anyone who runs an honest business is blessed. This is emphasized in the first part of the hadith, which states: a blessed sale does not involve deception. Hence the person who deals without deception in any kind of business or trade, he is blessed.[4] This honest transaction is the best of transaction.

References:

[1]The Prophet said, "Nobody has ever eaten a better meal than that which one has earned by working with one's own hands. The Prophet of Allah, David used to eat from the earnings of his manual labor."  (Bukhari ,Book 3, Volume 34, Hadith 286 )

[3]The Prophet said, "Nobody has ever eaten a better meal than that which one has earned by working with one's own hands. The Prophet of Allah, David used to eat from the earnings of his manual labor." (Bukhari ,Book 3, Volume 34, Hadith 286)

[4]The Prophet said, "Both the buyer and the seller and the seller has the option of cancelling or confirming the bargain unless they separate.”The sub-narrator, Hammam said, "I found this in my book: 'Both the buyer and the seller give the option of either confirming or cancelling the bargain three times, and if they speak the truth and mention defects, then their bargain will be blessed, and if they tell lies and conceal the defects, they might gain some financial gain but they will deprive their sale of (Allah's) blessings."(Bukhari, Book 3, Volume 34, Hadith 327)