Safwan ibn Umayyah a number of coats of mail.
Offering a loan-for-use to someone who needs it is an act of devotion that earns the lender abundant reward, for it comes under the general command to cooperate in righteousness and piety.
For the lending to be valid, four conditions must be satisfied:
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The lender must be legally competent to make a gift, because lending of this sort is a form of charitable donation. It is therefore invalid if offered by a minor, an insane person, or a prodigal who has been placed under financial restraint.
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The borrower must be legally competent to receive the donation, such that his acceptance is valid.
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The benefit taken from the borrowed item must itself be lawful. Hence it is not permissible to lend a Muslim slave to a non-Muslim, nor game animals and the like to someone in the state of consecration for pilgrimage, in light of His words: “and do not cooperate in sin and aggression.” ⦗Quran 5:2⦘
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The item lent must be something whose benefit can be enjoyed while it remains intact, as explained earlier.
The lender may reclaim the article whenever he wishes, unless doing so would harm the borrower. For instance, if he lent him a ship to transport his goods, he may not repossess it while it is still at sea; and if he lent him a wall on which to rest the ends of his timber, he may not reclaim the wall so long as the timber remains upon it.
The borrower is required to take greater care of the borrowed article than he does of his own property, so that it may be returned sound to its owner, for Allah the Exalted says, “Indeed, Allah commands you to…”