عَدِيُّ بْنُ حَاتِمٍ رَوَى أَنَّهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُسْلِمَ، قَالَ: «بَيْنَمَا أَنَا عِنْدَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ، إِذْ أَتَاهُ رَجُلٌ يَشْكُو الْفَاقَةَ، ثُمَّ أَتَاهُ آخَرُ يَشْكُو قَطْعَ السَّبِيلِ. فَقَالَ ﷺ: يَا عَدِيُّ، هَلْ رَأَيْتَ الْحِيرَةَ؟ قُلْتُ: لَمْ أَرَهَا، وَقَدْ أُنْبِئْتُ عَنْهَا. قَالَ: فَإِنْ طَالَتْ بِكَ حَيَاةٌ لَتَرَيَنَّ الظَّعِينَةَ تَرْتَحِلُ مِنَ الْحِيرَةِ، حَتَّى تَطُوفَ بِالْكَعْبَةِ، لَا تَخَافُ أَحَدًا إِلَّا اللهَ. قُلْتُ فِي نَفْسِي: فَأَيْنَ دُعَّارُ طَيِّئٍ الَّذِينَ قَدْ سَعَّرُوا الْبِلَادَ؟ ثُمَّ قَالَ ﷺ: وَلَئِنْ طَالَتْ بِكَ حَيَاةٌ لَتُفْتَحَنَّ كُنُوزُ كِسْرَى بْنِ هُرْمُزَ. قُلْتُ: كِسْرَى بْنِ هُرْمُزَ؟ قَالَ: كِسْرَى بْنِ هُرْمُزَ، وَلَئِنْ طَالَتْ بِكَ حَيَاةٌ لَتَرَيَنَّ الرَّجُلَ يُخْرِجُ مِلْءَ كَفِّهِ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ أَوْ فِضَّةٍ يَطْلُبُ مَنْ يَقْبَلُهُ مِنْهُ، فَلَا يَجِدُ أَحَدًا يَقْبَلُهُ مِنْهُ». وَقَالَ عَدِيٌّ لَاحِقًا فِي حَيَاتِهِ: «فَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ الظَّعِينَةَ تَرْتَحِلُ مِنَ الْحِيرَةِ، حَتَّى طَافَتْ بِالْكَعْبَةِ، لَا تَخَافُ أَحَدًا إِلَّا اللهَ، وَكُنْتُ فِيمَنْ فَتَحَ كُنُوزَ كِسْرَى بْنِ هُرْمُزَ، وَلَئِنْ طَالَتْ بِكَ حَيَاةٌ لَتَرَيَنَّ مَا قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ، أَبُو الْقَاسِمِ، فِي الرَّجُلِ يُخْرِجُ مِلْءَ كَفِّهِ…». [صحيح البخاري، 285] وَيُوَثِّقُ الْمُؤَرِّخُونَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ أَنَّ تَعَذُّرَ إِيجَادِ مَنْ يَسْتَحِقُّ قَبُولَ الصَّدَقَةِ حَدَثَ فِي عَهْدِ الْخَلِيفَةِ الْعَبَّاسِيِّ عُمَرَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ (ت 720م).

‘Adī ibn Ḥātim  narrates that prior to accepting Islam, “As I was with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, a man came to him complaining of poverty, and then another came to him complaining of highway robbery. He صلى الله عليه وسلم said, ‘O ‘Adī, have you seen al-Ḥīrah (in Iraq)?’ I said, ‘No, but I have been told about it.’ He said, ‘If you live long enough, you will see a woman travel on camel from al- Ḥīrah till she circles the Ka‘bah not fearing anyone but Allah.’ I said to myself, ‘Where then would the bandits of Ṭay’ be, who have pillaged these lands?’ He صلى الله عليه وسلم continued, ‘And if you live long enough, the treasures of Chosroes, the son of Hurmuz, will be conquered.’ I said, ‘Chosroes, the son of Hurmuz?’ He confirmed, ‘Chosroes, the son of Hurmuz. And if you live long enough, you will see a man walking out, hand filled with gold or silver, seeking someone to accept it but he will not find anyone to accept it.’ Later in his life, ‘Adī said, ‘I have in fact seen a woman travel on camel from al-Ḥīrah till she circled the Ka‘bah while not fearing anyone but Allah, and I was among those who conquered the treasures of Chosroes, the son of Hurmuz. And if you live long enough, you will see what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم—Abūl Qāsim—said regarding a man walking out, hand filled…’”285 Muslim historians document that the inability to find someone eligible to accept charity took place during the reign of the ‘Abbāsid caliph, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz (d. 720).