Sahih Adab al-Mufrad

Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he said: “The best dinar is the one a man spends on his dependents. After that, it is the one he spends on his friends in the way of Allah, then the one he spends on his animal in the way of Allah.” Abu Qilabah says that he (the Prophet) started with dependents—how could there be a greater reward than for the one who spends on his small children until Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, makes him independent of them?