When Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) intended to extend Musjid-un-Nabawi, he approached the Ansaari who owned the adjoining plot of land and said to him, “Sell this land to us in exchange of a palace in Jannah (i.e. donate this land for the purpose of building a musjid, and in exchange of this, Allah Ta‘ala will reward you with a palace in Jannah).”

However, due to his poverty and the large number of his dependants, the Ansaari was unable to donate the land for free. It is for this reason that Hazrat Uthmaan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) purchased this plot from the Ansaari in exchange of ten thousand dirhams.