Musnad Ahmad 1407
It was narrated that az-Zubair bin al-`Awwam said:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Verily, for a man to carry a rope and gather firewood, then come and sell it in the marketplace and make himself independent of means thereby, so that he can spend on his (needs), is better than him asking people, whether they give him anything or not.”
حَدَّثَنَا حَفْصُ بْنُ غِيَاثٍ، عَنْ هِشَامٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنِ الزُّبَيْرِ بْنِ الْعَوَّامِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَأَنْ يَحْمِلَ الرَّجُلُ حَبْلًا فَيَحْتَطِبَ بِهِ ثُمَّ يَجِيءَ فَيَضَعَهُ فِي السُّوقِ فَيَبِيعَهُ ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْنِيَ بِهِ فَيُنْفِقَهُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ أَنْ يَسْأَلَ النَّاسَ أَعْطَوْهُ أَوْ مَنَعُوهُ‏.‏