The Generous Gift

One day, a Bedouin man came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Madinah. The Bedouins were people who lived in the desert, and some of them could be very rough in their manners. This man wanted something from the Prophet, and he was not polite about it at all. He walked straight up behind the Prophet (peace be upon him) and grabbed the edge of his cloak. He pulled it so hard that the rough fabric dug into the Prophet's neck and left a red mark on his skin. Then the man demanded loudly, "O Muhammad, give me from the wealth of Allah that you have! It is not your money or your father's money!" (Sahih al-Bukhari, 3149; Sahih Muslim, 1057) The companions who were nearby became angry. How dare this man treat the Prophet so roughly! They wanted to push him away and tell him off. But the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not get angry. He did not shout or push the man back. Instead, he turned around and looked at the Bedouin — and he smiled. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) calmly told his companions to give the man what he had asked for. He ordered that the Bedouin be given a generous amount of goods, enough to make him happy. The man received his gift and went on his way. (Sahih al-Bukhari, 3149) The companions watched in amazement. The Prophet had been hurt and spoken to rudely, yet he responded with a smile and a gift. That was the kind of person he was — his patience and generosity had no limits, even when others did not deserve it. As Anas ibn Malik said: "I served the Prophet for ten years, and he never said 'uff' to me, nor did he ever say, 'Why did you do that?' or 'Why didn't you do that?'" (Sahih Muslim, 2309)