The Prophet (pbuh) enjoined upon Muslims to treat the poor kindly and to help them with zakat, and in other ways. He said: "He is not a perfect muslim who eats his fill and lets his neighbor go hungry." (Hadith)
Monopoly is unlawful in Islam and the Prophet(pbuh) preached that : "It is diffucult for a man laden with riches to climb the steep path that leads to bliss."(Hadith, Muslim)
He did not prohibit or discourage the aquisition of wealth but insisted that it be lawfully aquired by honest means and that a portion of it would go to the poor.
He did not encourage beggary either and stated that : "Allah(God) is gracious to him who earns his living by his own labor, and that if a man begs to increase his property, Allah(God) will diminish it." (Hadith). He always paid the debts of the dead and issued instructions to the effect that if anyone died leaving any debt, he should be informed of it so that he could pay it off. Whenever the Prophet (pbuh) met any miserly person, he advised him to be more generous and charitable.
To his wife he said: "O Aysha, love the poor and let them come to you and Allah(God) will draw you near to Himself." (Hadith, Sahih Bukhari).
Abu Dharr reported that one evening he was walking with the Prophet(pbuh) when he said: "If the mountain of Uhud were turned into gold for me, I would not like three nights to pass and one dinar still be left with me, excepting what I would leave for paying my debts." (Hadith)
No person could ever equal the Prophet (pbuh) in generosity.Whatever he received he gave away to others and felt more pleasure than those who received the gift. He never turned anyone away empty-handed from his house and always gave preference to the needy over his own needs. His charity was of various kinds. Sometimes he gave a gift; sometimes he borrowed something and repaid it generously; sometimes he bought a thing and paid more than the price to the seller; and sometimes he gave charity. He accepted gifts from other people but always gave more gifts in return for them.
His love for the poor was so deep that he used to pray: "O Allah(God), keep me poor in my life and at my death and raise me at resurrection among those who are poor." (Hadith, Nasai, Chapter: Pardon)
( pbuh = peace be upon him )
