may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on behalf of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān at the Pledge of al-Ridwān while he was absent, and his bringing the men of the Trench into the homes of Abū Talhah and Jābir without asking their permission, since he knew that both consented.

When the butcher invited him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as the sixth of six guests, another man followed them. He did not let the man enter until he had asked permission from the butcher who had issued the invitation.

Likewise, it is reported that when al-Hasan al-Basrī’s companions entered his home and ate his food, he said, “You have reminded me of the ways of people now gone.”

This is also the meaning of Abū Jaʿfar’s statement: “Brothers are those among whom one may put his hand into his companion’s pocket and take whatever he wishes.”

Another example is his statement, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to someone who asked him for a ball of hair:

“As for whatever belongs to me and Banū ʿAbd al-Muttalib, I have given it to you.”

The same applies to his giving gifts to those whose hearts he sought to win over, according to those who hold that he gave them from the four-fifths of the spoils. On this basis, Imam Ahmad explained the sale by Hakīm ibn Hizām and ʿUrwah ibn al-Jaʿd: when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commissioned him to buy a sheep for one dinar, he bought two sheep and sold one of them for a dinar.

For acting without seeking specific permission—whether by an exchange, a gratuitous transfer, or the use of something—rests on customary permission, either general or specific.