Abayah bin Rafi' bin Khadij narrates from his father (Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him)) that it was said: O Messenger of Allah, which earning is the purest? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A person's working with his own hand, and every trade that is based on righteousness and honesty." This is a third variation in the narration of Wa'il bin Dawud; however, the two Shaykhs did not take narrations from al-Mas'udi, although he is truthful.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a man seized his debtor over ten dinars and said: By Allah, I will not let you go until you pay me my due or bring a guarantor. The narrator said: So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) became his guarantor. Then that man brought the amount (of gold) that he had promised, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him: "Where did you get this gold from?" He said: From a mine. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "We have no need of it; there is no good in it." So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) paid off his debt (on his own behalf). The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic), but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A time will surely come upon the people in which there will remain no one who does not consume usury (riba); and even if he does not consume it (directly), its dust will still reach him." Our imams have differed over whether al-Hasan al-Basri heard (directly) from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him); so if his hearing is established, then this hadith is sahih (authentic).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade hoarding food. Imam Muslim has recorded a narration from Sayyiduna Ma'mar bin Abdullah bin Nadlah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No one hoards except a sinner." This hadith is among the proofs that refute the principle that the hadith of a Companion from whom two Successors do not narrate is not sahih, because this Ma'mar has no narrator other than Sa'id bin al-Musayyab. As for the narration of al-Qasim from Abu Umamah, it is not with those words. Some reports have been narrated concerning the prohibition of hoarding and of holding back from supporting the Muslims in times of hardship, which must be mentioned at this point, because at this time the Muslims are afflicted by this very hardship. Some of them are as follows.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one who hoards is accursed (far from the mercy of Allah)."

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: "Whoever holds back food (hoards it) for forty nights has disowned Allah and Allah has disowned him. And any people of a settlement or neighbourhood among whom a person wakes up hungry, the protection of Allah is withdrawn from them."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever hoards with the intention of raising prices for the Muslims by it is a wrongdoer and a sinner, and the protection of Allah is withdrawn from him."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He is not a believer who goes to sleep with his stomach full while his neighbour beside him is hungry."

It is narrated from al-Yasa' bin al-Mughirah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by a man in the market who was selling grain at a price cheaper than the market rate. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him: "Are you selling in our market at a price cheaper than our prices?" He said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "With patience, seeking only reward and the pleasure of Allah?" He said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Rejoice, for the one who brings (goods from outside) to our market is like one who wages jihad in the path of Allah, and the one who hoards in our market is like a heretic (a rebellious transgressor) regarding the Book of Allah."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ma'qil bin Yasar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever interferes in any way in the prices of the Muslims in order to make things expensive for them, it is a right upon Allah that He cast him headlong into the most terrible part of Hell." Imam al-Hakim says: I searched out these six hadiths and have recorded them here seeking reward, because the people are in hardship, may Allah remove it, even though they were not upon the (formal) condition of this book.