1030 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; my father narrated to me; Siyyar narrated to us; Jaʿfar narrated to us; Malik ibn Dinar said:

When ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—arrived in Greater Syria, he toured its districts. He halted near Homs and ordered that the names of their poor be written down for him. The list was brought, and in it was Saʿid ibn ʿAmir ibn Judhaym, the city’s governor. ʿUmar asked, “Who is Saʿid ibn ʿAmir?” They replied, “Our governor.” He said, “Your governor?” They answered, “Yes.” ʿUmar was amazed and said, “How can your governor be poor? Where is his stipend, where is his allowance?” They said, “O Commander of the Believers, he keeps nothing for himself.” ʿUmar wept, then took one thousand dinars, tied them up in a purse, and sent them to him with the message, “Convey my greetings to him and say: The Commander of the Believers has sent you this so that you may meet your needs.”

The messenger delivered the money, and when Saʿid saw that it was dinars he began repeating, “Inna lillahi wa-inna ilayhi rajiʿun.” His wife asked, “What is the matter with you, O so-and-so? Has the Commander of the Believers died?” He replied, “Something even graver than that.” She said, “Has a sign appeared?” He said, “Graver than that.” She asked, “Is it an event of the Hour?” He answered, “Graver than that.” She said, “Then what is it?” He said, “The world has come to me; a temptation has entered upon me.” She said, “Do with it whatever you wish.” He asked, “Will you help me?” She replied, “Yes.”

So he took a garment of his, wrapped the dinars in it in separate bundles, placed them in a saddlebag, went out to a detachment of the Muslim army, and distributed the entire sum. His wife said, “May Allah have mercy on you! If only you had kept some of it so we could make use of it.” He replied, “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: ‘If a woman from the women of Paradise were to look down upon the people of the earth, she would fill the earth with the fragrance of musk.’ By Allah, I could never prefer you to them.” At that she fell silent.