Muhammad.com collection in 109 languages

|H 1034

“The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, appointed
me (Abu Hurairah) as the custodian of the „Sadqa Fitr‟ (charity given
at the end of Ramadan before the festival of Eid).

During the night an intruder entered and tried to steal from the
charity. I caught hold of him and said, „I will take you to the
Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him,„ but he pleaded
saying, „I am in need, I have a large family and we are in great
need.‟ So I let him go. The next morning the Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him, asked me, „Abu Hurairah, what did
your captive do last night?‟ I answered, „O Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him, he pleaded telling me of the great
need of himself and his family, so I took pity on him and let him go.‟
The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said, „He
lied to you; he will return.‟ Therefore I knew that he would return as
the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, had said so
I kept watch for him.