Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: “I am afflicted with poverty (and destitution).” (And in another narration, he said: “I am penniless.”) The Prophet sent a message to his wives, and they replied: “By the One Who has sent you with the truth, we have nothing except water.” Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Who will host this man? May Allah have mercy on him.” An Ansari companion, who was called Abu Talhah, said: “I will.” He took the guest to his wife and said: “Honor the guest of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and do not keep anything back.” His wife said: “By Allah, we have nothing except food for the children.” Abu Talhah said: “Prepare the food, light the lamp, and when the children want dinner, put them to sleep.” So she prepared the food, lit the lamp, and put the children to sleep. Then she got up as if to fix the lamp and (deliberately) turned it off, and in the darkness, both of them (husband and wife) kept making the guest think that they were eating with him. Thus, the guest ate, and both of them spent the night hungry. In the morning, Abu Talhah went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: “Allah laughed at (or was amazed by) what you did with your guest last night.” Then Allah revealed (mentioning their good quality) this verse: «وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ وَمَنْ يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ» “And they give preference to others over themselves, even though they are in need. And whoever is saved from the greed of his soul, it is those who are successful.”