How Holy Prophet PBUH Helped a Needy Person

“A man from the Ansaar came to the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa aalehi wa sallam (may Allaah exalt his mention) and begged from him. He (the Prophet) asked, ‘Do you not have anything in your house?’ He replied, ‘Yes, a piece of cloth, a part of which we wear and a part of which we spread (on the ground), and a wooden bowl from which we drink water.’ He said, ‘Bring them to me.’ He then brought these articles to him, and he (the Prophet) took them in his hands and asked, ‘Who will buy these?’ A man said, ‘I shall buy them for one dirham.’ He said, ‘Who will offer more than one dirham?’ (He said it twice or thrice.) A man said, ‘I shall buy them for two dirhams.’ He gave the articles to the buyer and took the two dirhams and, giving them to the Ansari, he said, ‘Buy food with one dirham and hand it to your family, and buy an axe with the second dirham and bring it to me.’ He then brought it to him. The Messenger of Allah sallallaahu `alayhi wa wa aalehi wa sallam (may Allaah exalt his mention) fixed a handle on it with his own hands and said, ‘Go, gather firewood and sell it, and do not let me see you for a fortnight.’ The man went away and gathered firewood and sold it. When he had earned ten dirhams, he came to him and bought a garment with some of them and food with the others. The Messenger of Allah sallallaahu `alayhi wa wa aalehi wa sallam (may Allaah exalt his mention) then said to him, ‘This is better for you than that begging coming as a spot on your face on the Day of Judgment. Begging is suitable only for three people: one who is in severe poverty, one who is seriously in debt, or one who is responsible for paying blood money and finds it difficult to pay.’”