The Dweller Of The Garden

During the era of the Sahaabah (may allaah be pleased with them), there was an Abyssinian slave working in an orchard. When his food came, then a dog would come and stand beside him.

The slave threw a piece of bread for the dog, which devoured it and continued standing there. The slave then threw a second and third piece of bread and then continued working in the garden.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Ja'far (may Allaah be pleased with him) happened to be standing nearby and he saw this entire episode. He asked the slave,

"How many pieces of bread are served to you daily?" He replied, "Three."

Hadhrat Abdullah asked him, "Why then do you give up all three pieces?"

The slave replied, "Actually, there are no dogs in this vicinity. This dog must have traveled far to get here, so I deemed it inappropriate to allow it to return hungry." 

Hadhrat Abdullah (may Allaah be pleased with him) then asked him, "What will you eat today, then?"

He replied, "What difficulty is there in one day's hunger?" 

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Ja'far (may Allaah be pleased with him), who was well known for his generosity, exclaimed, "People say that I am generous, whereas this slave is much more generous than I am."

He then bought the slave and the garden from their owner, set the slave free and gifted the garden to him.