More Generous than Free Wind

The generosity of the Prophet (Pbuh) was described by his Companions as more flowing than the free wind, sent with rain and prosperity. Ibn ‘Abbas t said, “The Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) was the most generous of all people. He (Pbuh) was even more generous in the month of Ramadan when Jibril (Gabriel) met him. He used to meet him every night of Ramadan to recite the Qur’an with him. The Messenger of Allah (Pbuh)was a more generous giver of good than the freely flowing wind.”[1]

The Prophet (Pbuh) said, “It would not please me to have as much gold as this Uhud Mount and three (nights) should pass and I still have a dinar of it, except for something I would keep for a debt.”[2]

Never was anything asked of the Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) but he (Pbuh) willingly gave it. Jabir bin ‘Abdullah  said,

Anas bin Malik  narrated that a man asked the Prophet (Pbuh) to give him (a herd of) sheep that filled the space between two mountains, and he (Pbuh) gave it to him. The man returned to his people and said, “O people, embrace Islam. By Allah, Muhammad gives like one who does not fear poverty.”[4]

Sahl bin Sa‘d narrated, “A lady brought a cloak and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I have woven this cloak with my own hands for you to wear.’ The Messenger of Allah (Pbuh)took it, for he (Pbuh)needed it and came out to us wearing it as an Izar (lower garment wrapped around the waist). A man from the people touched it and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, give it to me to wear.’ He (Pbuh)said, ‘Yes,’ and sat in the assembly as long as Allah willed. When he (Pbuh) returned (home), he (Pbuh)folded it and sent it to him. The people said to that man, ‘You have done wrong. You asked him for it, although you know that he (Pbuh)never turns down a request.’ The man said, ‘By Allah, I only asked him for it to be my shroud the day I die.’” Sahl added, “And it was his shroud.”[6]

Abu Sa‘id Al-Khudri t narrated that some people from the Ansar begged charity from the Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) and he (Pbuh)gave it to them. They begged charity from him again, and he (Pbuh)gave it to them. They begged charity from him a third time, and he (Pbuh)gave it them, until everything in his possession was exhausted. He (Pbuh) said, “Whatever good I have, I will not withhold it from you. Whoever seeks to be chaste (i.e. refrain from begging), Allah will make him chaste. Whoever seeks to be self-sufficient, Allah will make him self-sufficient. Whoever seeks to be patient, Allah will make him patient, and none is given a blessing better and greater than patience.”[7]

Jubair bin Mut‘im t narrated that while he was in the company of the Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) along with people on their way back from Hunain, the Bedouins crowded around the Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) and started begging of him to such an extent that they forced him to a thorny tree which snatched away his cloak. The Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) stood up and said to them, “Return my cloak to me. If I had as many camels as these thorny trees, I would distribute them among you; and you will not find me a miser, a liar, or a coward.”[8]

Lady ‘Aishah narrated that they slaughtered a sheep, so the Prophet (Pbuh) asked, “What has remained of it?” She said, “Nothing has remained of it except its shoulder.” He (Pbuh) replied, “Rather, all of it has remained except its shoulder.”[9]