any good I might have, I would never withhold it from you. Whoever strives to remain chaste, Allah will preserve his chastity; whoever aims for self-sufficiency, Allah will enrich him; and whoever perseveres, Allah will grant him patience. No one has been given a gift better or more expansive than patience.”

Explanation
It was the habit of the noble Messenger—may Allah bless him—that if he possessed something and someone requested it, he would give it. Never was it reported that he rejected a petitioner; rather, he gave with the generosity of one who feared no poverty. He himself lived in his home like the poor, sometimes tying a stone to his stomach from hunger. He, peace and blessings be upon him, was the most generous and the bravest of people.

When everything in his hand was exhausted, he informed them that any good he might possess he would never keep back from them—meaning he would never withhold anything from them, but at that moment he simply had nothing left.

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, then urged people to embrace chastity, self-sufficiency, and patience, saying, “Whoever strives to remain chaste, Allah will preserve his chastity; whoever seeks self-sufficiency, Allah will enrich him; and whoever perseveres, Allah will grant him patience.”

These are three matters:

First: “Whoever seeks self-sufficiency, Allah will enrich him,” that is, whoever relies on what is with Allah instead of what is in people’s hands, Allah will enrich him. As for the one who begs from people and feels in need of what they possess, he—