Amr bin Harith narrates that Sayyida Zainab, the wife of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with them), reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the women:“Give charity, even if it is from your jewelry.”In another narration, she says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed us and said:“O assembly of women! Give charity, even if you have to give from your jewelry, for on the Day of Resurrection, the majority of the inhabitants of Hell will be you.”Sayyida Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her) says: My husband, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), was poor. One day I said to him:“Is it possible for me to give my charity to you and to my orphaned nephews?”He replied:“Go and ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about this.”So I went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and at his door, there was already sitting an Ansari woman named Zainab, whose question was the same as mine. Anyway, Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) came out, and we said to him:“Go to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and ask him about our issue, but do not tell him who we are.”He went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he asked:“Who are these women?”He said:“Zainab.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked:“Which Zainab?”He said:“One is the wife of Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), and the other is Zainab Ansari.”The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Yes, she can give charity to her husband. In fact, she will receive two rewards: one for maintaining family ties and the other for giving charity.”

Lady Ra’itah, the wife of Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with her), who was also the mother of his children, narrates that she was a skilled woman and used to spend on her husband and his children from her earnings. She says: One day I said to my husband, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him):“You and your children have deprived me of giving charity; because of you people, I am unable to give anything in charity.”Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) replied:“If you do not get a reward for this, then I do not approve of you giving that charity.”Upon hearing this, I went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said:“O Messenger of Allah! I am a skilled woman and make things to sell, but my children, my husband, and I have no other source of income except this, so because I spend on them, I am deprived of giving charity. Will I get a reward for spending on them?”The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“You should spend on them, for whatever you spend on them, you will be rewarded.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Miqdam bin Ma’di Karib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whatever you feed yourself, it will be charity for you; whatever you feed your children, that too will be charity on your behalf; whatever you feed your wife, that too will be your charity; and whatever you feed your servant, that too will be charity on your behalf.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: When any of you is in need, he should begin by spending on himself; if something remains after that, he should spend on his family and dependents; if wealth still remains, then he should spend on other relatives; and if there is still more capacity, then he should spend on other needy people here and there.

Narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: O people! Give charity. A man said: I have one dinar. He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Spend it on yourself. He said: I have another dinar. He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Give it in charity to your wife. He said: I have another dinar. He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Give it in charity to your children. He said: I have another dinar. He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Spend it on your servant. He said: I have another dinar. He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Now you know best yourself.

Narrated from Sayyiduna Sulayman bin Amir Dhabbi (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Giving charity to a poor person earns only the reward of charity, but giving charity to a relative earns two rewards: one for maintaining family ties and the other for charity.