Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: It is a story from a bygone era that a man and his wife did not possess anything (i.e., they had nothing), one day that man returned from a journey and entered upon his wife while he was suffering from severe hunger. He said to his wife: Do you have anything to eat? She said: Yes, rejoice, just now the sustenance of Allah Almighty has come to you. Then the man urged the woman and said: May you perish, if you have anything, present it. She said: Yes, of course, but wait a little, we hope for the mercy of Allah Almighty. But then, when the period of hunger became prolonged, he said: Oh, may you die, get up, find some bread and present it before me, I am tired and it is becoming difficult for me. She said: Yes, just now the oven is about to be ready for cooking, do not hurry. Then, when the husband remained silent for a while and the woman thought that he would speak again, this time she herself said: If I get up and check my oven (who knows, maybe something is actually cooking in it), so she got up and found her oven filled with goat shoulders and both her mills were grinding grain. So she went to the mill and examined it and took out the goat shoulders from the oven. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By the One in whose hand is the life of Abu al-Qasim, the Messenger of Allah Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said that if she had taken out the flour from both mills and not examined them, they would have continued grinding grain until the Day of Resurrection.

(Narration from another chain) The narrator says: A man came to his family, and when he saw their need, he went out towards other creation. When his wife saw this situation, she went to the millstone and set it right, then went to the oven and lit it, and then said: O Allah! Provide for us. Then she saw that the tub was filled, and when she looked at the oven, it too was filled. When the husband returned, he asked: Has anything come after I left? His wife said: Yes, a lot has come from Allah Almighty. Then he went to the millstone and... When this matter was mentioned to the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, he said: If he had not lifted it, it would have kept running until the Day of Resurrection. I was present with the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when he said: By Allah! If any one of you were to gather firewood and bring it, and sell it to avoid asking (begging), this act would be better for him than going to someone and asking him for something.