Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: If someone goes in the morning and carries a bundle of wood on his back, and gives charity from it and fulfills his own needs so that he is not dependent on people, this is better for him than going around asking people, whether they give him or not. And indeed, the upper (giving) hand is better than the lower (receiving) hand, and first give charity to the one whose expenses are your responsibility.

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 at that time he (peace and blessings be upon him) was on the pulpit mentioning charity and refraining from asking from others. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The upper hand is better than the lower hand, and the upper hand is the one that gives, while the lower hand is the one that asks.

Sayyiduna Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for wealth, and he gave it to me. I asked again, and he gave it to me again. I asked again, and he gave it to me again. Then he said: This wealth is lush and sweet. So whoever takes it without asking for it, or takes it with the giver’s pleasure (not by forcefully demanding it), then there is blessing in it. And whoever takes it by humiliating himself (i.e., by begging or clinging), then there is no blessing in it, and his wealth is such that a person eats from it but is not satisfied. And the upper hand is better than the lower hand.

Narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: The needy is not the one who goes around and returns with one or two morsels or one or two dates. The Companions asked, "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), then who is the needy?" He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: The one who does not get enough to suffice his basic human needs, and people do not consider him needy so that they would give him charity, nor does he ask anything from people.

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Wealth is not in having many possessions, but true wealth is the richness of the heart."

`Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The son of Adam (human being) grows old, but two things remain young in him: the desire for wealth and the desire for a long life.

Sayyiduna Abu’l-Aswad said that Sayyiduna Abu Musa Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) summoned the reciters of Basra, and all three hundred reciters who had completed the recitation of the Qur’an came to him. Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said to them:“You are the best among the people of Basra and its reciters, so continue to recite the Qur’an and do not become lazy after a long time has passed, lest your hearts become hardened as the hearts of those before you became hardened. And we used to recite a surah which, in length and in stern warnings, was equal to ‘Bara’ah’ (Surah At-Tawbah). Then I was made to forget it, except for this part which I remember: ‘If a man had two valleys full of wealth, he would seek a third, and nothing fills the belly of man except dust.’ And we used to recite another surah, which we considered equal to one of the Musabbihat (the surahs beginning with ‘Glorify’), but I have forgotten it too, except for this verse which I remember: ‘O you who believe! Why do you say what you do not do?’ (If you say such a thing which you do not do yourself,) it will be written against your necks as a testimony, and you will be questioned about it on the Day of Resurrection.”

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood and preached to the people and said: O people! By Allah, I do not fear anything for you except that which Allah brings forth as the adornment of this world for you. Then a man said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Can good ever result in evil? (That is, the possession of worldly wealth and power and the progress of Islam is good, so how can its result be bad?) Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent for a while. Then he said: What did you say? (He asked about his question again so that if he had forgotten, the answer would not be inconsistent with the question and he would not understand.) He said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Can good ever result in evil? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No, the result of good is only good. Is this good? (That is, the Prophet's intention was that this is a test and trial, and where is the good in a test and trial?) Then he explained by giving an example: In the spring season, the greenery that grows, that greenery destroys the animals except those animals that eat only as much as they need. They eat to the extent that their bellies become full. Then they come into the sun and pass dung or urine, chew the cud, and then go and start grazing again. So whoever takes wealth with its due right, there is blessing placed in it for him. And whoever takes it unlawfully, his example is like that animal which eats but is never satisfied (and thus brings about its own destruction).

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) used to give some wealth to Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), so Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) would say, "O Messenger of Allah! Please give it to someone who is more in need than me." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Take this wealth, and whether you keep it with you or give it in charity, it is up to you. And whatever of this kind of wealth comes to you, and you neither desired it nor asked for it, then take it. But for that which is not like this, do not let your soul pursue it." Salim said that because of this, Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) would not ask anything from anyone, and if someone gave him something, he would not refuse it.

Sayyiduna Qabeesah bin Mukhaariq Hilaali (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I became indebted with a large amount (i.e., for reconciling between two tribes or for some other good cause), so I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked him (for help). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Wait until the charity funds come to us, then I will order that something be given to you from it. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Qabeesah, asking (for charity) is not lawful except for three persons. One is the person who becomes indebted (in a good cause), so asking becomes lawful for him until he receives enough wealth to meet his needs, then he should refrain from asking. The second is the person whose wealth is struck by calamity and his wealth is destroyed, so asking becomes lawful for him until he receives enough to meet his needs (or he said the word "sadaadan"). The third is the person who is afflicted by hunger, and three wise men from his people testify that he is indeed afflicted by hunger, so asking is also permissible for him until he finds enough to meet his needs. And apart from these people, O Qabeesah, asking is forbidden; and whoever asks besides these (categories), he is consuming what is unlawful.