Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever spends a pair (of something) in the way of Allah, he will be called by the gatekeepers of Paradise. The gatekeeper of every gate of Paradise will call him (towards himself), saying: O so-and-so, come through this gate. Upon this, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah, then such a person will have no fear? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I hope that you will be among them.

Sayyida Asma bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Spend and do not count, lest you be counted against, and do not hoard, lest Allah withhold (His blessings) from you.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Muslim women, let not any neighbor look down upon (even) a small gift for her neighbor, even if it is (only) a sheep’s hoof.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: There are seven types of people whom Allah will grant shade on the Day when there will be no shade except His shade: First, a just ruler; second, a youth who grew up in the worship of his Lord; third, a person whose heart remains attached to the mosque; fourth, two people who love each other for the sake of Allah, meeting and parting only for His sake; fifth, a man whom a woman of status and beauty invites (towards evil), but he says,“I fear Allah”; sixth, a person who gives charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has spent; and seventh, a person who remembers Allah in solitude and his eyes overflow with tears.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, which charity has the greatest reward?" He replied, "That charity which you give while you are healthy, feeling miserly, fearing poverty, and hoping for wealth. And do not delay it until the soul reaches the throat, and then you say, 'Give so much to so-and-so and so much to so-and-so,' while by then it has already become the property of so-and-so."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, while he was on the pulpit, that he mentioned charity, not spreading one's hand before anyone, and asking from others. He said: The upper hand is better than the lower hand; the upper hand is the one that gives, and the lower hand is the one that asks.

Sayyiduna Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The upper hand is better than the lower hand, and begin (charity) with those who are your dependents and relatives. And the best charity is that which, after giving it, a person remains self-sufficient. And whoever wants to avoid asking (from others), Allah will protect him, and whoever seeks to be independent of others (in wealth), Allah will make him independent.

Sayyiduna Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for something and he gave it to me. I asked again and he gave it to me again. I asked once more and he still gave it to me. After that, he said:“O Hakim, this wealth is indeed lush and sweet, but whoever takes it with a generous heart, there is blessing in it for him. And whoever takes it with greed, there is no blessing in it for him. His example is like that of a person who eats but is never satisfied. (Remember) the upper hand is better than the lower hand.”Sayyiduna Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) said:“I swore by the One Who sent you with the truth, after this I will never take anything from anyone until I depart from this world.”Thus, when Sayyiduna Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) would call Hakim to give him his share, he would refuse to take it. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) also wanted to give him his share, but he refused to take it. Upon this, Sayyiduna Umar said:“O Muslims, I make you witness regarding Hakim bin Hizam that I wanted to give him his right, but he refused to take it.”Thus, Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) continued to refuse to take anything from anyone after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) until he passed away.

Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: When Allah intends good for someone, He grants him understanding of the religion. And I am only a distributor, the Giver is Allah alone. And this Ummah will always remain established upon Allah’s command. And whoever opposes them will not be able to harm them, until Allah’s command (the Day of Judgment) comes (and this world will perish).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The needy is not the one who goes around among the people so that he may get a morsel or two, or a date or two, rather the real needy is the one who does not possess enough wealth to make him independent, and his condition is not known to others so that someone may give him charity, nor does he himself stand up to beg.