Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) commanded us to give charity, and this coincided with having some wealth. I said: Today I shall surpass Abu Bakr if I ever surpass him any day. I came with half of my wealth. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked: "What did you leave for your family?" I said: I left them the like of it. Then Abu Bakr came with everything he possessed. He asked him: "What did you leave for your family?" He said: Allah and His Messenger. I said: I shall never compete with you in anything ever again. This was a virtue peculiar to [Abu Bakr] al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, due to the strength of his certainty and the perfection of his faith. He was also a merchant with a means of earning, for he said when he assumed office: People know that my earnings were never insufficient for the maintenance of my family, or as he said, may Allah be pleased with him. If neither of these two traits is found in the one giving charity, it is disliked (makruh), because Abu Dawud reported from Jabir ibn Abdullah that he said: We were with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) when a man came with something like an egg of gold and said: O Messenger of Allah, I acquired this from a mine, so take it; it is charity, and I possess nothing else. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) turned away from him. Then he came to him from his right side and said the same, and he turned away. Then he came to him from his left side, [and said the same], and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) turned away. Then he came to him from behind, so the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) took it and cast it at him. If it had struck him, it would have harmed him or wounded him. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) then said: "One of you comes with all he possesses and says: This is charity, then he sits down begging from people. The best of charity is that which leaves one independent of means."
(27) In (M): "faji'tuhu" (I brought it to him). (28) In (M): "fa'tahu" (he came to him). (29) Omitted from: (Original) and (A). (30) Reported by Abu Dawud in: The Chapter of Concession Regarding That [i.e., concerning a man who gives away all his wealth], from the Book of Zakat. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/390. And by al-Tirmidhi in: The Chapter on the Virtues of Abu Bakr and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, from the Chapters on Virtues 13/138, 139. And by al-Darimi in: The Chapter of a Man Giving in Charity All That He Possesses, from the Book of Zakat. Sunan al-Darimi 1/391, 392. (31) Omitted from: (A), (B), and (M). (32) In the original: "nafsihi" (his soul). (33) Its report (takhrij) has preceded on page 150. (34) Omitted from: (A), (B), and (M).
