someone without having asked for it beforehand; and that is the height of refinement: do not degrade yourself by begging, and do not yearn for money or let your heart become attached to it.

If someone gives you something, accept it, for turning down a gift or present may lead the giver to dislike you and say, “This man is acting proud, he is haughty,” and the like. The proper rule, therefore, is to accept what is offered but never to ask—unless one fears that the giver will later hold the favor over him, saying, “I gave you such-and-such, I did this and that for you.” In that case he should decline it, for if he fears the donor will one day tighten a noose around his neck with that favor, he must protect himself.

The compiler then remarks that a person should eat from what his own hands earn, avoid begging, and engage in lawful commerce. Allah says: “He is the One who made the earth tractable for you; so walk in its regions and eat of His provision” (al-Mulk 67:15)—that is, traverse its stretches—and “seek sustenance from the bounty of Allah.” He also says: “When the prayer is concluded, spread out over the land and seek of Allah’s bounty, and remember Allah often so that you may prosper” (al-Jumuʿah 62:10). Thus He commands: disperse throughout the earth and seek the bounty of Allah.

Yet let not your quest for Allah’s bounty make you forget the remembrance of your Lord; for this reason He says: “seek of Allah’s bounty and remember Allah often, so that you may prosper.”

He—may Allah have mercy on him—then cited the authentic narration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī that David, peace be upon him, used to live on what his own hands earned; he would fashion coats of mail, as Allah the Exalted said