The Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, showed generosity even in times of hunger and hardship

Al-Miqdaad ibn ‘Amr (a Companion) said: “A friend and I were almost going to go deaf and blind from sheer hunger, so we began to approach people but no one hosted us (since those whom they approached were poor themselves). We came to the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and said: “O Messenger of Allah, we are extremely hungry, and we have approached people but no one has hosted us, so we came to you.” So the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, brought us to his home, and there were three goats. The Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa  sallam, said:

We milked them and each of us would drink his portion and we would give the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, his portion. The Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would then come at night and greet in a voice that would not wake a sleeping person, but one who was awake would hear. He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would then go to the mosque to pray, and then come to the milk and drink from it. Satan came to me one night after I drank my portion, and said:

So I went and drank it.When it entered my stomach and I knew that I could not reverse what I had done, Satan made me regret, saying: “Woe to you! What have you done? You have drunk the share of Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, so he will come and not find it and then supplicate against you, so you will lose out in this life and the next.”

I had a garment on me that if I covered my feet with it, it would not cover my head, and if I covered my head my feet would be exposed, and I was not able to sleep. As for my two companions, they continued sleeping, and they did not do what I did. The Prophet of
Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came and greeted as usual, then he went to the mosque and prayed, then he came to his drink and uncovered it but it was empty. He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, raised his head to the sky, so I said: “Now he will supplicate against me, so I will be destroyed!” However, the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, prayed:

So I covered myself in the garment and took a knife, then I went to the goats to see which one was fattest so I could slaughter it for the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. I found that its udder was filled with milk, and I looked and found that all of their udders were full. So I picked up a container that belonged to the family of the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and started milking until it was covered by the froth. Then I came to the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and he said to me: “Did you drink your portion tonight?” I said: “O Messenger of Allah, drink.” He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, drank from it and then handed it to me. I again said: “O Messenger of Allah, drink.” So he drank from it and then handed it to me. When I knew that the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was full and that I had achieved his supplication, I laughed until I fell to the ground.

The Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “One of your bad deeds, O Miqdaad.” I explained what had happened at night. The Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “This is only a mercy from Allah, why did you not seek my permission so we could wake up our companions and drink from it?” I said: “By the One Who sent you with the truth, it does not matter to me who drinks from it after you and I have drunk.”

The meaning of “I laughed until I fell to the ground,” is that he was scared and sad that the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would supplicate against him because he drank his portion. When he realized that the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was full, and his prayer was answered, he became overjoyed and laughed until he fell to the ground, because his sadness turned to happiness, and because the supplication of the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, for the one who fed him was answered at the hands of Al-Miqdaad. He was also amazed by the miracle he saw, and by the bad deed he committed which ended up as a good deed.