57 – Chapter on Contentment, Chaste Self-Restraint, and Moderation in Livelihood

3/524 — Hakim ibn Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for something and he gave it to me; I asked again and he gave it to me; I asked a third time and he gave it to me. He then said, “O Hakim, this wealth is fresh and sweet. Whoever takes it with a generous soul, it will be blessed for him; but whoever takes it with a covetous soul, it will not be blessed for him, and he will be like one who eats yet is never satisfied. The upper hand is better than the lower hand.”

Hakim continued: I said, “O Messenger of Allah, by Him who sent you with the truth, after you I will never take anything from anyone until I depart this world.”

After the Prophet’s death, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) would summon Hakim to give him his stipend, but he refused to accept anything from him. Later ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) invited him to receive his due, but he likewise declined. ʿUmar then said, “O Muslims, bear witness that I am offering Hakim the share that Allah has assigned to him from this booty, yet he refuses to take it.” Consequently, Hakim never accepted anything from anyone after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) until he died. Agreed upon.

(yarzaʾ) — with a rā, then a zāy, then a hamza — means he did not take anything from anyone. The original sense of the root is “diminution,” i.e., he did not diminish anyone’s property by taking from it. (ishrāf al-nafs) denotes the soul’s yearning and greed for something, while (sakhāwat al-nafs) signifies the absence of such yearning and covetousness.