Qays ibn 'Asim as-Sa'idi said, "I came to the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he said, 'This is the master
of the people of the desert.' I said, 'Messenger of Allah, how much property
can I have without owning anything to someone who comes with a request
or a guest?' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, 'The best property is forty. A lot of property is sixty. Woe
to those who have hundreds except for he who gives away something precious,
lends an animal with abundant milk or sacrifices a fat animal to eat and
feeds beggars and the poor.' I asked, 'Messenger of Allah, which is the
noblest of these qualities?' The valley where I am does not support many
flocks.' The Prophet replied, 'So what do you give as a gift?' I replied,
'I give virgin camels and she-camels.' The Prophet asked, 'How much do
you give as a loan?' I said, 'I lend a hundred.' He asked, 'What do you
do with she-camels that are ready to be mated?' He replied, 'People bring
their ropes (to use as halters for the male camels) and no man is prevented
from taking a camel on which he puts a halter. He takes the male camel
he thinks is the proper one (for mating and keeps it) until he returns
it.' The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Which
do you love more ? your property or your mawali (i.e. your heirs).' ('My
property,' he replied.) The Prophet said, 'Your share is what you eat of
your property and consume or what you give away and spend. The rest of
it belongs to your heirs.' I said, 'When I go back, I must lessen it.'"