‘This is my food alone.’ Instead, give it to him so that it will be sufficient for the two of you.

Likewise, if two people bring their food and then two others join them, the first pair should not withhold it, saying, “This is our food.” Rather, they should invite them to partake, for what they have will be enough for all four; and in the same way four can share with eight.

The Messenger ﷺ mentioned this only to encourage a person to put his brother before himself with whatever surplus food he has.

The same lesson appears in the hadith of Abu Saʿid about the man who came to the Prophet ﷺ on his mount. The man kept looking to the right and left, and the Prophet ﷺ seemed to realize that he was in need. He ﷺ therefore said, “Whoever has a spare riding animal should share it with the one who has none, and whoever has surplus provisions should share them with the one who has no provisions.”

He then listed other categories, yet he did not begin by saying, for example, “Whoever has surplus provisions,” lest the man feel embarrassed. Instead he began with, “Whoever has a spare riding animal,” even though the man clearly did not need a mount, for he was already riding his own. This reflects the Prophet’s ﷺ gracious manner of addressing people.

The narrator adds, “until we thought that none of us had any right to keep anything extra,” meaning that a person was expected to part with every surplus—food, drink, mounts, and so forth. All of this embodies altruism.

As for the fourth hadith, the report of Sahl ibn Saʿd: a woman came and presented the Prophet ﷺ with a cloak. The Prophet ﷺ never refused a gift; rather, he would accept it and reward the giver—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him. This was part of his generosity and noble character. A man then stepped forward and said, “How beautiful this is!” and asked the Prophet ﷺ for it, so the Messenger—peace be upon him—granted his request.