38. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from al-Hassan ibn Mahbub from Hisham ibn Salim from abu Basir who has said the following:

“I once heard abu Ja‘far , saying, ‘During the time of the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, there was a believing man, poor and very needy of the people of the platform (in front of Masjid). He always kept very close to the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, at the times of all Salat (prayer) and did not miss any of them. The Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, sympathized with him greatly, looked after his needs and his poverty and said, ‘O Sa‘d, if something comes to me I will make you self-sufficient.’ It so happened that for a long time the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, did not get a chance and he (the Messenger of Allah) became depressed for Sa‘d. Allah, most Majestic, noticed how the Messenger of Allah felt about Sa‘d and Jibril came to the Messenger of Allah with two dirham and said, ‘O Muhammad, Allah has noticed how you feel about Sa‘d. Do you want to make him rich?’ He (the Messenger of Allah) replied, ‘Yes, I want to make him rich. Jibril gave him two dirhams and told him to give them to Sa‘d and instruct him to do business with them. The Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, took the two dirham then went out for Salat (prayer) and Sa‘d was standing at the door of the chambers of the Messenger of Allah waiting for him. When the Messenger of Allah saw him he said, £ 0 Sa‘d, are you good at trading?’ Sa‘d replied, ‘By Allah, I do not own anything to do trading. The Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, gave him the two dirham and told him to use them in trading and work for sustenance from Allah.’ Sa‘d took them and went with the Holy Prophet, until they performed al-Zuhr and al-‘Asr Salat (prayer). The Holy Prophet, said, ‘Go in search for sustenance; I was worried about your condition, O Sa‘d.’ Whatever Sa‘d bought for one he then sold it for two dirham and whatever he bought for two dirham he sold for four dirham and the worldly things began to move to him. His assets grew larger and his business became great. At the door of the Masjid he found a place where he sat and operated his trade. The Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, came out for Salat (prayer) when Bilal said Adhan but Sa‘d was busy with the worldly things without wudu and unprepared unlike the way he did before he was engaged in trading. The Holy Prophet, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, asked, ‘O Sa‘d, the worldly things have kept you busy and away from Salat (prayer).’ He replied, ‘What can I do? I do not want to waste my assets. From this man I must receive payment and to this man I must pay.’ He (the Imam) said that the Messenger of Allah began to feel sadder about Sa‘d than about his poverty. Jibril came and said, ‘O Muhammad, Allah has noticed your feeling about Sa‘d. Of his conditions which one you like: this condition or that one before?’ The Holy Prophet said, ‘O Jibril, I like his condition before because his worldly things have taken away his hereafter. Jibril then said, ‘The love of the world and its asset is a trial and deviates one from the hereafter. You must ask Sa‘d to return your two dirham that you gave him. His condition will change to that he had before.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘The Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, went out, passed by Sa‘d and asked, ‘Do you not want to return the two dirham I had given to you?’ Sa‘d replied, ‘Yes, indeed, I can give two hundred dirham.’ He (the Messenger of Allah) said, ‘I just want the two dirham.’ Sa‘d gave two dirham to the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause. He (the Imam) said that the worldly things turned away from Sa‘d until all that he had collected were gone and he returned to the condition he had before.’”