The best charity

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) that he submitted in the court of the Messenger: O Messenger of Allah, command me to give some charity. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Give water to drink (that is, arrange for the provision of water)."
Imam al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) states that (in compliance with this Prophetic command) Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) had two large water troughs or drinking fountains set up, and in my childhood I used to run between the two of them.

It is narrated from al-Qasim bin Muhammad that when Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both) passed away, the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her), gave in charity on his behalf, with the intention of conveying the reward to him, those slaves of hers that were in her ownership.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Barzah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had nine pure wives. One day he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best of you is the one whose hand is the longest." Hearing this, all the pure wives stood up and began placing their hands on the wall (to measure the length). Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), making the reality clear, said: "I do not mean this (outward length); rather, I mean the one among you who is the most skilful and hardworking (that is, the one who gives charity from the earnings of her own hands)."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Umm Kulthum bint Uqbah bin Abi Mu'ayt (may Allah be pleased with her) that she heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "The best charity is that given to a relative who hides enmity in his heart."
According to the imams of language and the commentators, 'kashih' is an enemy who keeps his hostility hidden within his breast or side (kashh); this deed has been declared the best because it involves complete opposition to one's own self and that highest degree of good conduct even towards a hostile relative which removes mutual resentments and paves the way for upholding the ties of kinship.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I had the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) leaning against my chest (that is, he (peace and blessings be upon him) was resting against my chest for support), when he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever gives charity seeking the pleasure and good pleasure of Allah Almighty, and his life is sealed with that good deed, enters Paradise."
The imams of hadith say in explaining this blessed saying that it refers to that great virtue of a good end (husn al-khatimah) in which a person is granted, at his final moment, the ability to do a good deed purely for the pleasure of Allah; such a deed then becomes for him a warrant of forgiveness and entry into Paradise.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered an address to us, in which he (peace and blessings be upon him) also said: "Whoever gives any charity, Allah Almighty will give him, for the weight of every particle of that charity, a reward equal to Mount Uhud from the blessings of Paradise; and whoever walks himself and takes that charity to a poor person will also receive a reward equal to it; and even if forty thousand people pass that charity on from one to another until it reaches a needy person, each one of them will receive the same complete reward, for 'what is with Allah is better and more lasting' (Surah al-Qasas: 60) for those who are mindful of Allah and do good."
According to the imams of hadith, this is a mawdu' (fabricated) narration.