Encouragement to give charity and its virtue

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "I have been told that (on the Day of Resurrection, good) deeds will boast of their greatness before one another, and charity will say: I am the best of you all." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) also said: "Whenever any Muslim gives a pair (of anything) from his wealth in charity in the way of Allah, the doorkeepers of Paradise rush towards him (to welcome him and give him glad tidings)."
This narration describes the extraordinary virtue of charity, and 'zawjayn' (a pair) means two things of the same kind, such as two dirhams, two garments or two animals, which are given in charity for the pleasure of Allah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Awf bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) came into the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and sat down. The narrator then related the hadith like the previous narration, in which it is mentioned: I said: O Messenger of Allah, what is charity (and its reward)? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is a reward multiplied many times over, and with Allah, Glorified and Exalted, there is even more grace and favour than that." I said: O Messenger of Allah, which charity is the best? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The charity given by a person of little wealth (one in hardship) from the earnings of his own toil and effort, or wealth given to a needy person in complete secrecy."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Amr bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, the charity of a Muslim man becomes a means of increasing his lifespan, protects him from an evil death, and because of that charity Allah Almighty removes from the heart of that (person) such evils as arrogance, pride and vanity."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "Indeed, charity and upholding the ties of kinship are good deeds through whose blessing Allah Almighty lengthens life, through them He saves a person from an evil death, and through both of them Allah Almighty removes every disliked and feared matter."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "Whoever spends two things (as a pair) of his wealth in the way of Allah Almighty, the guardian angels of Paradise will call him (to themselves) from whichever of the gates of Paradise he wishes to enter."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Qays bin Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I came into the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When I drew near to him (peace and blessings be upon him), I heard him (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "This is the chief of the desert dwellers." I gave the greeting of peace and sat down, then I said: O Messenger of Allah, which wealth is it in which no burden or reckoning falls on me on account of a guest or a large family? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Forty camels are the best wealth, and at most sixty; and woe to the owners of hundreds of camels, except the one who pays their due both in their abundance and in their hardship, lends out their backs for riding, provides his stallion for breeding, slaughters his fat animal, and feeds the content poor who do not ask and the one who asks." I said: O Messenger of Allah, how noble and beautiful these manners are! The situation is that because of the great number of my camels, no room is left for anyone else to camp in the valley where I live. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What do you do regarding the 'maniha' (lending an animal temporarily for its milk)?" I said: Every year I give a hundred camels as maniha. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What do you do with the 'ariyah' (those who ask to borrow for general use)?" I said: The camels go out in the morning to graze and people also come, and whoever takes hold of the halter of a camel takes it away. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What do you do regarding 'fiqar' (lending camels for riding and carrying loads)?" I said: I give young camels and aged she-camels for this purpose as well. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Is all of this dearer to you, or the wealth of your heir?" I said: Rather, I prefer my own wealth. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Your own share of your wealth is only what you have eaten and finished, or worn and worn out, or given in the way of Allah and so made it take effect in your favour; and whatever remains belongs to your heir." I said: Does it belong to the heir? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes." I said: By Allah, if I remain alive, I will certainly reduce the number of my camels by giving them in charity.
Imam al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) states that Qays bin Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) then did just as he had said, may Allah have mercy on him.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is no morning except that a caller calls out from the heaven: 'Allahumma a'ti kulla munfiqin khalafan, wa kulla mumsikin talafan', meaning: 'O Allah, give everyone who spends (in the way of Allah) a good replacement, and give everyone who holds back (wealth) ruin and loss.' (And he also says:) O seeker of good, come forward and turn towards it; and O seeker of evil, stop now and desist."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that (the narrator of the hadith states: I think that he narrated it as marfu', from the Prophet) he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In the body of the son of Adam there are three hundred and sixty joints or bones, and on each one of them charity is due every day." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) explained: "A good word that a person says (for the sake of good) is charity; helping one's brother in some task is charity; giving someone a sip of water to drink is charity; and removing a harmful thing from the road is also charity."
Imam Abu Ya'la also recorded a similar narration with the same chain, while the wording of the narration of Muhammad bin Bakkar is: "Every limb and every joint of a person owes a prayer (charity) in the morning; every step of yours that is taken towards the prayer is also a prayer (charity); and helping a weak person carry or load his burden is also a prayer (charity)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man from the tribe of Banu Tamim came into the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, I have a great deal of wealth and property, I also have a family, and I am a man of wealth and standing; so tell me how I should spend my wealth and what course of action I should adopt (for good)? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Pay the zakah on your wealth, for it is a purification that will purify you (from sins and from the impurity of wealth); treat your relatives kindly and uphold the ties of kinship; and recognise the right of the one who asks, the neighbour and the poor." He (peace and blessings be upon him) also referred to this blessed verse: "And give the relative his right, and the poor and the wayfarer" [Surah al-Isra: 26].
Imam al-Harith bin Abi Usamah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated this hadith, which sets out a comprehensive Qur'anic and Prophetic economic order comprising the purification of the self through zakah and the fulfilment of the financial rights of relatives and the poor.

It is narrated from the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "O Aishah, spend generously (in the way of Allah) and do not keep (the mouth of your purse) tied shut (out of miserliness), or else Allah Almighty will also shut (the doors of His provision and bounty) upon you."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Protect yourselves from the Fire of Hell, even if it be by means of (giving in charity in the way of Allah) a piece of a date."

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), while standing upon the wooden planks of the pulpit, saying: "Protect yourselves from the Fire of Hell, even if it be by means of a piece of a date (given in charity), for this deed removes crookedness and sets things right, wards off an evil and sudden death, and for a hungry person this (small piece) has the same benefit and standing that it has for a satisfied and well-fed person."

It is narrated from the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that she said: "Giving this ring of mine in charity to a needy poor person is far dearer to me than presenting a gift of a thousand dirhams for the service of the House of Allah."
Explanation: This blessed saying makes clear the juristic and scholarly point that meeting the needs of Allah's needy servants and removing their poverty is at times a cause of greater virtue and reward than spending on other voluntary charities and the symbols of Islam.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna al-Miqdad bin al-Aswad (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I submitted in the court of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): There is something I heard from you about which I have a doubt and uncertainty. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When any of you has a doubt about some matter, he should ask me about it." I said: (My uncertainty) concerns your saying about your pure wives: "I hope for them, after me, for the siddiqin." He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What do you people mean by the siddiqin?" We said: It means our children who die in childhood. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No, it is not so; rather, by the siddiqin here are meant those fortunate people who give a great deal in charity."

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It is narrated from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Beware! Soon there will come upon you a harsh and severe time in which the believer will hold on with his teeth to the wealth and goods he has, out of fear of it being spent (that is, he will be extremely miserly), whereas Allah Almighty says: 'And whatever you spend (in the way of Allah), He will replace it, and He is the best of providers' (Surah Saba: 39)."