There was once a man in Arabia called Muan Ibn Zaida. He was very famous for his generosity as well as his mild temper. It was well-known amongst the Arabs that no one could provoke him.
One day, an Arab man claimed: “I will make Muan lose his temper.”
“Well,” said the people, “if you manage to do that, we will give you a hundred red camels.”
The Arab went to Muan. He walked in very rudely and without saying “Assalamu Alaikum” started to recite a few verses which meant, “Do you remember the time, when a goat’s skin was your dress and your shoes were made of camel skin?”
Muan did not mind the rude behaviour. He replied: “Of course, I have not forgotten that time.”
The Arab said: “Glory be to the One, Who gave you the power to rule and taught you how to sit on a bed.”
Muan said: “All praise is to Allah (swt) for that; not to you, my dear brother.”
The Arab said: “By Allah (swt), if you were supporting me, I could not survive one day. Also, I am not impressed with your rule, so I don’t offer you Salam.”
“My dear brother,” said Muan, “saying Salam is a Sunnah. If you obey it, you will receive blessings from Allah (swt). And if you do not say Salam, then you will be sinning.”
“I will leave the very land in which you are living, even if I have to walk all the way,” the Arab continued.
“If you stay here, you will only receive good treatment from us,” said Muan. “And if you leave, our Duas are with you.”
“Well then,” said the Arab. “I am definitely leaving. Arrange for my travel expenses.”
Muan asked his servant to give the Arab one thousand Dinars.
The Arab said: “This is too little. I expected much more from you.”
Muan asked his servant to give him another thousand Dinars.
Now, the Arab admitted his defeat and said: “May Allah (swt) grant you a long life, as your generosity is equivalent to a sea. You are the epitome of Ihsan. I have never met anyone like you before.”
Muan asked his servant to give him another thousand Dinars.
The Arab now explained: “I had heard you were mild tempered, so I came here just to test your patience. I am convinced that you are extremely generous and mild tempered. If your two qualities were distributed amongst every individual on this Earth, they would be enough for them.”
Muan gave the Arab another three thousand Dinars. The Arab thanked him and turned to leave. He was now crying.
Muan called him back and asked: “Why are you crying?”
“I am crying because even a man like you has to die one day,” he replied. “Losing one’s wealth and animals is not such a big deal. But when a generous man dies, quite a lot perishes with him, too.”
Adapted (with permission) from Sunehray Huroof published by Darussalam. Translated for “Hiba” by Hafsa Ahsan.
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