There was once a family who saw a beggar standing at the door of their home. As they did not wish to give him anything, they tried to turn him away saying, “May Allah open your way.”

The beggar, however, was undeterred and asked for a slice of bread. Hearing his request, the family responded, “We don’t have any.”

Still undeterred, the beggar next asked, “Some wheat? Chicken? Barley?” They replied, “Sorry, but we don’t have any.” So the beggar asked, “How about some fat, olive oil or milk?” They answered, “Sorry, but we don’t have any of those either.” Finally, the beggar asked them for water. They said, “We don’t have any water.”

In utter frustration, the beggar burst out, “What are you doing, sitting at home? You should join me and beg as you are obviously even more in need than I am!” (Al-Mustatraf vol. 2, pg. 379)