167 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Abi Hatim ⦗133⦘ narrated to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Haniʾ al-Taʾi narrated to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Abi Saʿid informed us, who said that ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Marwan said:

“No man has ever looked at me and kept staring until his gaze grew intense without my asking him what he needed. I would then see to that need until it was fulfilled. Later, when he woke from his drowsy sleep, he would find the night unbearably long, the dawn slow in coming, and he would be waiting eagerly to meet me. Then he would set out to me at daybreak—having made me, in his own mind, his ‘trade’—while the merchants went off to their merchandise. Would he not return from that morning’s errand with a profit greater than any yield from his own trade?

How astonishing it is for a believer who is certain—certain that Allah provides for him and certain that Allah will replace whatever he spends—that he should withhold his wealth from a tremendous reward or from the good repute that comes with such generosity.”