Author: Dr. Muhammad Ziya-ur-Rahman A'zami (رحمه الله)
Chapter: “Every Act of Goodness is Charity”
«باب: كل معروف صدقة»
❖ «عن جابر بن عبد الله عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: كل معروف صدقة»
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Reported by al-Bukhārī 6021]
Narrated by Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh (رضي الله عنه), the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Every act of goodness is charity.”
❖ «عن جابر بن عبد الله قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: كل معروف صدقة ومن المعروف أن تلقى أخاك بوجه طلق، وأن تفرغ من دلوك في إنائه.»
[Ḥasan: Reported by Aḥmad 14709]
Narrated by Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh (رضي الله عنه), the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Every act of goodness is charity. And it is a part of goodness that you meet your brother with a cheerful face, and that you pour water from your bucket into his container.”
❖ «عن عبد الله بن يزيد الخطمي قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: كل معروف صدقة»
[Ḥasan: Reported by Aḥmad 18741; Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim in al-Aḥād wa al-Mathānī 2118; al-Bukhārī in al-Adab al-Mufrad 231]
Narrated by ʿAbdullāh ibn Yazīd al-Khaṭmī, he said the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Every act of goodness is charity.”
❖ «عن حذيفة قال: قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: كل معروف صدقة.»
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Reported by Muslim 105]
Narrated by Ḥudhayfah (رضي الله عنه), the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Every act of goodness is charity.”
❖ «عن أبي تميمة الهجيمي، عن رجل من بلهجيم...»
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Reported by Aḥmad 20636; Companion: Jābir ibn Sulaym al-Bajimī]
Narrated by Abū Tamīmah al-Hujaymī from a man of Balahjīm who said:
I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, “What do you call towards?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“I call towards Allah alone — the One Who, if harm befalls you and you supplicate to Him, He will remove it; and if you lose your mount in the desert and call upon Him, He will return it to you; and if you are afflicted with drought and call upon Him, He will make greenery grow for you.”
The narrator said: I asked, “O Messenger of Allah, advise me.” He ﷺ said:
“Do not curse anyone. Do not belittle any good deed, even if it is meeting your brother with a cheerful face, or pouring water from your bucket into the container of one who is in need. Raise your lower garment halfway up the shin; if not, then at least above the ankles. Beware of trailing your lower garment below the ankles, for doing so is arrogance, and Allah the Blessed and Exalted does not love arrogance.”
❖ «عن أبي ذر قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم...»
[Ḥasan: Reported by al-Tirmidhī 1556; al-Bukhārī in al-Adab al-Mufrad 891; Ibn Ḥibbān 529]
Narrated by Abū Dharr (رضي الله عنه), he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Your smile in the face of your brother is charity for you. Commanding good and forbidding evil is charity. Guiding someone who is lost in the land is charity. Helping a person with poor eyesight is charity. Removing a stone, thorn, or bone from the path is charity. Pouring water from your bucket into your brother’s bucket is also charity.”
✔ Every form of goodness counts as charity.
✔ Simple gestures like smiling, helping, guiding, or even removing obstacles are charitable acts.
✔ There is no act of kindness too small to be rewarded.
✔ Islam emphasizes positive interaction with others through even the most basic human decency.
Chapter: “Every Act of Goodness is Charity”
«باب: كل معروف صدقة»
✦ Foundational Hadith on Good Deeds as Charity
❖ «عن جابر بن عبد الله عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: كل معروف صدقة»
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Reported by al-Bukhārī 6021]
Narrated by Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh (رضي الله عنه), the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Every act of goodness is charity.”
✦ Simple Gestures as Forms of Charity
❖ «عن جابر بن عبد الله قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: كل معروف صدقة ومن المعروف أن تلقى أخاك بوجه طلق، وأن تفرغ من دلوك في إنائه.»
[Ḥasan: Reported by Aḥmad 14709]
Narrated by Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh (رضي الله عنه), the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Every act of goodness is charity. And it is a part of goodness that you meet your brother with a cheerful face, and that you pour water from your bucket into his container.”
❖ «عن عبد الله بن يزيد الخطمي قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: كل معروف صدقة»
[Ḥasan: Reported by Aḥmad 18741; Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim in al-Aḥād wa al-Mathānī 2118; al-Bukhārī in al-Adab al-Mufrad 231]
Narrated by ʿAbdullāh ibn Yazīd al-Khaṭmī, he said the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Every act of goodness is charity.”
❖ «عن حذيفة قال: قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: كل معروف صدقة.»
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Reported by Muslim 105]
Narrated by Ḥudhayfah (رضي الله عنه), the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Every act of goodness is charity.”
✦ Comprehensive Guidance from the Prophet ﷺ
❖ «عن أبي تميمة الهجيمي، عن رجل من بلهجيم...»
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Reported by Aḥmad 20636; Companion: Jābir ibn Sulaym al-Bajimī]
Narrated by Abū Tamīmah al-Hujaymī from a man of Balahjīm who said:
I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, “What do you call towards?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“I call towards Allah alone — the One Who, if harm befalls you and you supplicate to Him, He will remove it; and if you lose your mount in the desert and call upon Him, He will return it to you; and if you are afflicted with drought and call upon Him, He will make greenery grow for you.”
The narrator said: I asked, “O Messenger of Allah, advise me.” He ﷺ said:
“Do not curse anyone. Do not belittle any good deed, even if it is meeting your brother with a cheerful face, or pouring water from your bucket into the container of one who is in need. Raise your lower garment halfway up the shin; if not, then at least above the ankles. Beware of trailing your lower garment below the ankles, for doing so is arrogance, and Allah the Blessed and Exalted does not love arrogance.”
✦ Acts of Charity in Daily Life
❖ «عن أبي ذر قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم...»
[Ḥasan: Reported by al-Tirmidhī 1556; al-Bukhārī in al-Adab al-Mufrad 891; Ibn Ḥibbān 529]
Narrated by Abū Dharr (رضي الله عنه), he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Your smile in the face of your brother is charity for you. Commanding good and forbidding evil is charity. Guiding someone who is lost in the land is charity. Helping a person with poor eyesight is charity. Removing a stone, thorn, or bone from the path is charity. Pouring water from your bucket into your brother’s bucket is also charity.”
✦ Summary of Teachings
✔ Every form of goodness counts as charity.
✔ Simple gestures like smiling, helping, guiding, or even removing obstacles are charitable acts.
✔ There is no act of kindness too small to be rewarded.
✔ Islam emphasizes positive interaction with others through even the most basic human decency.
