Once the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) was informed that a person from Madinah had become afflicted with abject poverty. He (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) said: Bring him to me!
When some people brought the person before him, he (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) said to him:Bring whatever you possess in your house; do not regard anything as insignificant.
The person went home and returned with a bowl and sackcloth. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) placed them for auction, and they were eventually purchased by a person for two dirhams.
Handing over the money to the poor Muslim, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) advised: Utilize one dirham to buy some food for your family and use the other dirham to purchase an axe for yourself.
The man did as instructed; purchasing an axe he approached the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny), who then said to him: Go into the desert and collect firewood; collect every piece of wood that you find and do not consider anything to be trivial and insignificant, and then proceed to sell them.
He went away and begun to act as per the instructions of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny). Fifteen days later his financial state had improved; he came to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) who said to him: It is better for you that you work and earn your wage rather than take charity and enter the plains of Qiyaamah on the Day of Judgment with the ugly sign of charity manifesting upon your face.( Hikaayat-ha-e-Shanidani, vol. 3, pg. 57; Bihaar al-Anwaar, vol. 103, pg. 10. )