The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) warned his ummah against accumulating worldly gains, and said that those who acquire a great deal of wealth in this world will be those among the people who have the least share of reward on the Day of Resurrection, except those who pay what is due on wealth [i.e., zakah and charity]. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was the least interested of people in worldly gains. In this hadith, Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the wealth of al-Bahrain – meaning the land tax [kharaj] that was imposed on the Magians of Hajar, which was a region in the land of al-Bahrain – was brought by Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him); it had been sent by al-‘Ala’ ibn al-Hadrami from al-Bahrain. The total amount was eighty thousand dirhams. The name al-Bahrain in ancient times referred to the region that now includes [the island of] Bahrain, al-Ahsa’ and al-Qatif, in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed his companions to display that wealth in the mosque; this wealth was the largest amount that had been brought to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came out to pray without paying any attention to it or looking at it, in order to show his companions (may Allah be pleased with them) that wealth was not something to be concerned about, and it should not distract one from prayer and faith. When he had finished his prayer, he sat, and he did not see anyone but he gave him some of that wealth. Then al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him), the paternal uncle of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), came to him and said: Give me something, for I ransomed myself and ‘Aqil – meaning that he had paid the ransom for himself and for ‘Aqil ibn Abi Talib when they were taken prisoner on the day of Badr. It was said that he paid a ransom of eighty uqiyahs of gold, or that he paid one thousand dinars. What he meant was that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) should compensate him for the wealth that he had lost. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Take.” So al-‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) scooped up a great deal with his hands, and placed it in his garment. Then he tried to lift it up, but he was not able to do so. So he told the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to instruct one of those present to lift it up onto him so that he could carry it. But the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) refused to instruct anyone to do that. So al-‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) told the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to lift it up onto him himself, but the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) refused to do that. Al-‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) threw some of it aside, so that he would be able to carry it, then he tried to lift it but he was not able to do so. He told the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to instruct someone to lift it up onto him, but he refused, and he also refused to lift it onto him himself. So al-‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) put back some more of it, then he lifted it onto his back – the Arabic word translated here as back refers to the part of the back between the shoulders – then he left. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) kept watching him until he went away and disappeared from view. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was astonished at how keen al-‘Abbas was to acquire wealth. The only reason he did not instruct anyone to lift the wealth onto al-‘Abbas’s back was – and Allah knows best –that he wanted to deter this eagerness to take too much wealth that al-‘Abbas demonstrated, and so that he would not take more than he needed of worldly gains, and would limit himself to what was sufficient for him, as he himself used to do. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not get up and leave until he had shared out all the wealth, and not a single dirham of it was left. This was his usual habit. This hadith indicates that the wealth of al-fay’ [booty seized without fighting] may be given to both rich and poor. It highlights how the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) looked down on worldly gains and glamour, no matter how great they were. It indicates that one may be astonished at the eagerness of someone who is keen to acquire wealth and to acquire a great deal of it. It indicates that it is permissible to share out fay’ in the mosque, and to put it in the mosque..