Muhammad (saw) – The Perfect Man — Page 464
CHAPTER 19 The Holy Prophet Muhammad sa 's Generosity and Spending in the Way of All a h 464 life he adopted simplicity and contentment and spent according to the circumstances. He practiced simplicity and thus acquired the means to spend in the way of All a h. He suffered hardship, yet offered sacrifices and gave preference to the requirements of Islam. Hadrat ‘ A ’ishah ra relates, "Since his arrival in Mad i nah, the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa and his family did not have bread made of wheat for any period of three consecutive days. This state of affairs continued till his death. "Sometimes it would so happen that the fire was not lit in our house for the whole month, only dates and water served as subsistence, apart from an occasional gift of meat from someone. " 18 The Most Generous Person As far as the spending in the way of All a h and fulfilling the needs of other people was concerned, no one surpassed the generosity of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa. Hadrat Anas ra relates, "The Holy Prophet Muhammad sa said, 'Should I tell you about the most munificent amongst the generous ones? All a h is the most Munificent amongst the generous ones and I am the most generous among the people. " 19 This was not merely a claim. People who witnessed the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa 's generosity, readily gave this verdict. The Holy Prophet Muhammad sa 's paternal cousin Hadrat ‘Abdull a h ra bin ‘Abb a s (who had the opportunity