ʿUthmān's Gift

So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) started fundraising, collecting the donations: he would stand up and ask the people to give. And it was a difficult time in terms of the people's financial resources; they did not have much, especially since it was before the harvest, and that is where their money was. But they were still bringing it. Abū Bakr brought his money, and ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb; and then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked for more. So ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān brought a hundred camels, ready with their saddles and the whole thing; and then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked for more. ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān brought a hundred; and then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked for more, so he brought a hundred; and then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked for more. So ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān brought some gold coins and poured them into the lap of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). So the Messenger of Allah had his fingers in these coins — they were in his lap, and his fingers were in the coins — and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: mā ḍarra ʿUthmāna mā ʿamila baʿda al-yawm — nothing ʿUthmān does after this day will harm him (al-Tirmidhī 3701). Whatever he does, that is it: he is forgiven because of what he has done on this day. And this shows the virtue of spending fī sabīl Allāh.