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 among you has the ability to be like the man with a measure of rice, then he should be like him. The Companions asked: O Messenger of Allah! What is the story of the man with a measure of rice? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Three men set out on a journey, the sky became cloudy, so they entered a cave, but then a rock fell from the top of the mountain and blocked the mouth of the cave. They tried to remove it, but it was beyond their ability. Then some of them said to others: You have fallen into a great calamity, now each man should call upon Allah with his best deed, perhaps Allah will deliver us from this calamity. So one of them said: O Allah! You know that my parents had become very old, I used to milk for them and give them to drink. One day when I brought their milk, they had fallen asleep. I spent the night standing, waiting for them, while the milk was in my hand. I disliked to give it to anyone before them or to wake them up, and my children were crying around me because of hunger. O Allah! If You know that I did this out of fear of You, then remove this rock from us. As soon as he said this, the rock moved a little.

The second person said: O Allah! You know that my uncle had a daughter who was the dearest of people to me. I tried to persuade her to give herself to me, but she said: No, by Allah! Not for less than one hundred dinars. So when I collected this amount and gave it to her, and sat with her as a husband sits with his wife, she said: Fear Allah and do not break the seal except by right. Upon hearing this, I stood up from her. O Allah! If You know that I did this out of fear of You, then remove this rock from us. So the rock moved a little more and they could see the sky.

Now the third person said: O Allah! Surely You know that I hired a laborer for a measure of rice. When evening came, I offered him his due, but for some reason he refused to take his wages and left me. I felt uneasy about this and invested his capital and improved it, until I bought cows and a herdsman with it. After some time, when he met me, he said: Fear Allah and give me my wages, and do not wrong me. I said: Go to those cows and the herdsman and take them. He said: Fear Allah and do not mock me. I said: Indeed, I am not mocking you. So he went and drove them away. O Allah! If You know that I did this seeking Your pleasure, then remove this rock from us. So the rock rolled away and they came out and went on their way.