Evidence that his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) "The best charity is that given out of surplus" and his saying, when asked about the best charity, "The effort of one who has little" differ only according to people's states in patience with hardship and poverty and contentment with the barest sufficiency, and success is from Allah

Chapter: The evidence that his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying, "The best charity is that which is given in a state of self-sufficiency (wealth)," and his saying when he was asked about the most excellent charity, "A poor person giving something from the effort of his labour," (the difference between these two hadiths) is in fact due to the difference in people's conditions with regard to patience upon hardship and starvation and contentment with the barest sufficiency. And success is only from Allah.

Zayd bin Aslam narrates from his father: I heard Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) say: One day he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered us to give charity, and that day happened to coincide with my having wealth. So I said: Today I will outdo Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), if I am ever to outdo him on any day. So I brought half of my wealth, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What have you left for your family?" I said: The same amount as I have given. Then Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came and brought all the wealth he had. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What have you left for your family?" He said: I have left Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) for them. Then I said: I can never outdo you in anything.

Abdullah bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I heard Ka'b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrate the account of when he stayed behind from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the expedition of Tabuk. Then he narrated the long hadith, and in it is: I said: Part of my repentance is that I give up my wealth as charity for Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Keep some of your wealth for yourself; that is better for you." So I said: I will keep only my share in Khaybar for myself. Then he narrated the rest of the hadith.

Husayn bin al-Sa'ib bin Abi Lubabah narrates from his grandfather that when Allah Almighty accepted the repentance of Abu Lubabah (may Allah be pleased with him) for having stayed behind from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and for matters before that in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had been displeased with him, Husayn states that Abu Lubabah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, when Allah Almighty accepted his repentance: "O Messenger of Allah! I will leave the house of my people in which I committed this sin, and move away and live near you, and I will give up my wealth as charity for Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "'Al-thuluth' (one third) is sufficient for you" (this is according to Husayn's statement).
Muhammad bin Abi Hafsah narrated through the chain of Husayn bin al-Sa'ib bin Abi Lubabah that when Allah Almighty accepted the repentance of Abu Lubabah (may Allah be pleased with him), Abu Lubabah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and told him everything, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "'Al-thuluth' (one third) is sufficient for you."

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when a man came with a piece of gold the size of an egg, from some expedition or from a mine. He came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) from his right side and said: O Messenger of Allah! Accept this from me as charity. By Allah, I have no wealth other than this. He (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from him. Then he came from his left side and said the same, then he came from in front of him and said the same. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Bring it," and threw it at him; had it struck him, it would have injured him. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One of you brings his wealth to give in charity, and afterwards sits stretching out his hand before people. Charity is only that which is given after self-sufficiency. Take it, it is yours; we have no need of it." So he took his wealth and went away.
(Hammad bin Salamah narrates in this hadith from Muhammad bin Ishaq: I obtained this from a mine.)

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) said that a man entered the mosque while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was on the pulpit on Friday. He (peace and blessings be upon him) called him and ordered him to pray two rak'ahs. Then he entered on the second Friday while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was on the pulpit. He (peace and blessings be upon him) called him and told him to pray two rak'ahs. Then he entered on the third Friday, and he mentioned the same thing, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Give charity, give charity." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave him two garments out of what they had given in charity. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Give charity," and the man threw down one of his two garments, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) rebuked him for what he had done. He (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked it. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Look at this man. He entered the mosque in a shabby state, so I called him, and I hoped that you would give him something, give charity to him and clothe him, but you did not do so. Then I said: Give charity, give charity, and I gave him two garments out of what you gave in charity. Then I said: Give charity, and he threw down one of his two garments. Take your garment." And he (peace and blessings be upon him) scolded him.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One dirham has surpassed a hundred thousand dirhams." The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said: "O Messenger of Allah, how has one dirham surpassed a hundred thousand dirhams?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A man had only two dirhams, and he gave one of them in charity, while the other was a person who had a great deal of wealth; he took a hundred thousand dirhams out of his abundant wealth and gave them in charity (so the first man surpassed him)."

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Three men came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). One of them said: "I have a hundred uqiyahs, and I gave ten uqiyahs in charity." The second said: "I have a hundred dinars, and I gave ten dinars in charity." And the third said: "I have ten dinars, and I gave one dinar in charity." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Each one of you has given a tenth of his wealth in charity, and you are all equal in reward."