A Mention of His Generosity ﷺ
It has already been cited from the two Ṣaḥīḥs, through the chain of al-Zuhrī, from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was the most generous of people, and he was never more generous than in the month of Ramadan, when Gabriel would meet him with revelation and rehearse the Qur’an with him. In those moments the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was more liberal in doing good than the freely blowing wind.”(1)
This comparison reaches the height of eloquence, likening his generosity to the sent-forth wind—encompassing all, arriving in succession, and never ceasing.
In the two Ṣaḥīḥs as well is the report of Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah(2), from Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir, from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, who said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was never asked for anything without saying, ‘Yes.’”(3)
Imām Aḥmad said(4): Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, from Ḥumayd, from Mūsā ibn Anīs, from Anas: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was never asked for something for the sake of Islam without granting it. Once a man came to him, and he ordered for him an enormous flock of sheep that filled the space between two mountains from the charity livestock. The man returned to his people saying, ‘My people, accept Islam, for Muhammad gives a gift that leaves no fear of poverty.’” Muslim also recorded it(5) from ʿĀṣim ibn al-Naḍr, from Khālid ibn al-Ḥārith, from Ḥumayd.
Aḥmad further said(6): ʿAffān narrated to us; Ḥammād narrated to us; Thābit narrated to us, from Anas: “A man asked the Prophet ﷺ, and he gave him sheep that filled the valley between two mountains. The man went back to his tribe and said, ‘My people, accept Islam, for Muhammad gives as one who does not fear poverty.’ A man would come to the Messenger of Allah seeking only worldly gain, yet before nightfall his faith would be dearer and more precious to him than the world and all it contains.” Muslim likewise related it(7) through Ḥammād ibn Salamah with the same gist.
Such largesse was meant to win over those whose hearts were still fragile in Islam, and to attract others so that they might enter Islam, as