It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said — and he (peace be upon him) was at that time on the pulpit mentioning charity and avoiding asking —: "The upper hand is better than the lower hand. And the upper hand is the one that gives, and the lower hand is the one that asks."

It is narrated from ‘Attar bin Yasar that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, sent some wealth to Sayyiduna ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. Sayyiduna ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, returned it. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, asked:“Why did you return it?”Sayyiduna ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: O Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him! You, peace and blessings be upon him, said that the best person is the one who does not take anything from anyone. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:“It means that he should not ask for anything, and whatever comes to him without asking is what Allah has given.”Sayyiduna ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: By Him in Whose hand is my soul! Now I will not ask anything from anyone, and whatever comes to me without asking, I will take it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Him in Whose hand is my soul! If one of you were to tie a bundle of wood to his rope and carry it on his back, that would be better for him than that he should go to someone whom Allah has given wealth and ask him, whether he gives or refuses."

It is narrated from a man who was from Banu Asad that I and my family settled in Baqi' al-Gharqad (the name of a cemetery in Madinah Munawwarah). My wife said: Go to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and ask him for something to eat and tell him about your neediness. So I went to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and saw that a man was asking him for something, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was saying: "I do not have anything to give you." That man turned away angrily and as he was leaving, he was saying: By my life! You give only to whom you wish. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Look, he gets angry because I do not have anything to give him. Whoever among you asks while he has forty dirhams, or wealth equal to that, then he has clung to begging." I said: One camel is better for us than forty dirhams. Then I returned and did not ask the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, for anything. After that, barley and dried dates came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and he gave us a share from it, until Allah made us self-sufficient.

Al-Ala bin Abdur Rahman says that giving charity does not decrease or diminish wealth, and the servant who keeps forgiving, his honor increases, and whoever shows humility, Allah the Exalted raises his rank even higher.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: I do not know whether this hadith is marfu‘ (attributed) up to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, or not.

It reached Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Charity is not permissible for the family of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), because it is the filth of the people."

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Bakr bin Muhammad bin Amr bin Hazm that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, appointed a man from among Banu Abd al-Ashhal to collect charity. When he returned, he asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, for a camel from the charity (in addition to his wages). The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, became angry to the extent that anger was visible on his blessed face. And the sign of his anger was that his eyes would become red. Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Some people ask me for things which are not appropriate for me or for them to be given. If I do not give, I feel bad (because generosity was his natural disposition), and if I give, I give something which is not right to give to him." That person said: O Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him! Now I will not ask you for anything from it.

Abdullah bin Arqam said to Hazrat Aslam Adawi, "Show me a camel for riding, I will ask Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) to give it to me for my ride." I said, "Alright, there is a camel from charity." Abdullah bin Arqam said, "Would you like that a fat man, on a hot day, washes his private parts and thighs and gives you that water, and you drink it?" Aslam says that I became angry and said, "May Allah forgive you, you say such a thing to me." Abdullah bin Arqam said, "Charity is also the filth of people and their washings."

Hazrat Luqman the Wise said to his son at the time of his death (the name of this son was Shakur or Aslam): O my son! Sit with the scholars, and join your knees with theirs, because Allah, the Glorious and Exalted, enlivens (revives) hearts with the light of wisdom, just as He enlivens (revives) dead land with rain.

It is narrated from Hazrat Aslam Adawi that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed his freed slave, whose name was Hani, as the official over the Hima (Hima is the enclosure where the animals of charity are gathered), and said: O Hani! Restrain your hand from the people (do not oppress), because the supplication of the oppressed is surely accepted, and do not prevent the one who has thirty camels or forty goats from grazing, and be careful not to show leniency only to the animals of Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him), because if their animals perish, they will go to their gardens and fields, but if the one with thirty camels or forty goats perishes, he will come to me with his children and say: O Leader of the Believers! O Leader of the Believers! Then should I leave them? (Should I not take care of them?), May your father not exist (this is a curse in the idiom of the Arabs), giving water and grass is easier for me than giving gold and silver, by Allah! They know I have wronged them, even though it is their land and their water, over which there were fights in the days of ignorance. Then they became Muslims over the same land and water. By Allah! If these were not the animals of charity which are used in the way of Allah, I would not have taken even a span of their land.