Saʿd ibn al-Rabīʿ Offers Half of Everything

One example of these brotherhood relationships between a Muhājir and an Anṣārī was that of Saʿd ibn al-Rabīʿ and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf was a Muhājir from Makkah — he is one of the ten who were given the glad tidings of Jannah — and he stayed at the house of Saʿd ibn al-Rabīʿ. Saʿd ibn al-Rabīʿ told him: O my brother, I am one of the wealthiest men in Madīnah. I will split my wealth in half and give it to you. And I am married to two women; you can look at both of them and choose whichever one you want, and I will divorce her, and after she finishes her ʿiddah, you can marry her. This is the level of sacrifice they were willing to go to. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf (may Allah be pleased with him) said: you can keep your wealth, and may Allah bless it for you and bless your family — but show me the way to the market. Saʿd ibn al-Rabīʿ showed him the way to the market of Banū Qaynuqāʿ. Allah (swt) blessed the wealth of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, so very early on he was able to establish himself and became very wealthy — he went into the market, and he worked, and he made money. One day the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saw on him a trace of yellow colour, ṣufrah, a type of powder the women of Madīnah would use as makeup — it was on his face, the makeup of women on his face. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to him: what is this? Did you get married? ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf said, yes. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked him: what did you give her as her mahr, and where did you get the money from? ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf said: I gave her the weight of a date seed in gold as her mahr — meaning he already had enough money to buy gold. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) then told him: awlim wa-law bi-shāh — hold a wedding feast, even if you only slaughter one sheep.