Sayyiduna Abu Musa Ash'ari, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates this statement of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him: "The trustworthy Muslim treasurer who spends (the narrator is in doubt, perhaps these are the words) whatever he is ordered to give, and he fulfills it completely and gives it willingly, and hands it over to the person whom he was ordered to give, then that treasurer is also counted among those who give charity."

Sayyiduna Umair (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the slave of Sayyiduna Abi Lahm (may Allah be pleased with him), narrates: I was a slave and I used to give some meat from my master's meat as charity. I asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) about this, and he said: "You should give charity; the reward will be equally divided between both of you." (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:): In this narration, it is implied that he gave charity with his master's permission. So, the mention of permission is implicit in this narration. Sayyiduna Umair (may Allah be pleased with him) was the slave of Sayyiduna Abi Lahm (may Allah be pleased with him). This has been stated. Sayyiduna Abi Lahm (may Allah be pleased with him) was given this name because he had declared meat unlawful for himself during the time of ignorance and had refused to eat meat. That is why he was called Abi Lahm (i.e., the one who abstains from meat). The narrator named Muhammad bin Zaid is Muhammad bin Zaid bin Muhajir bin Qanfar Jad‘ani Qurashi. He heard hadith from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) and Sayyiduna Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him), while Imam Malik and the people of Madinah have transmitted narrations from him.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The upper hand is better than the lower hand."

Sayyiduna Malik bin Nadlah رضي الله عنه narrates: The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "There are three kinds of hands: the uppermost hand is Allah Almighty's, the hand that gives comes after that, and the lowermost hand is the one that asks. So give away what is extra and do not be helpless regarding your own self." (Imam Ibn Hibban رحمه الله says:): In this narration, there is a clear statement that those narrations which we have previously mentioned in our book—the upper hand is better than the lower hand. What is meant by this is: the hand that gives is better than the one that takes, even if the latter has not asked. The narrator named Abu Zara’ is the younger one; his name is Amr bin Amr bin Malik. (Malik’s father) is the brother of Abu Ahwas, while the elder Abu Zara’s name is Abdullah bin Hani. He has narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud رضي الله عنه.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this statement of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "The best charity is that which is given when one is in a state of prosperity (or after giving which a person remains prosperous), and the upper hand is better than the lower hand, and each of you should begin with those under his care, because his wife will say, 'Spend on me,' his children will say, 'To whom are you handing me over?' his slave will say, 'Give me food, then take work from me.'"

(Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:): The statement of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), "The upper hand is better than the lower hand," in my view, means: the hand of the one who gives charity is superior to the hand of the one who asks. It does not mean that the one who takes without asking is superior, because it is impossible that the hand for which an action has been declared permissible becomes inferior to another person who has been commanded to perform a certain act as an obligation and he fulfills it, or that the other person seeks nearness to Allah Almighty through a voluntary act. Sometimes, the giver adopts fewer means in his giving compared to the one for whom taking has been made permissible. And sometimes, the one for whom taking has been made permissible is more virtuous and more pious than the one who is giving. So, when it is impossible to apply this without declaring one superior to the other, it becomes established that the one who gives charity is superior to the one who asks for it.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates this statement of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "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."

Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: Once a beggar came to her. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) instructed that something be given to him. When the servant took it out for him, Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) called her back. Then Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) looked towards the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), so the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You give out things with your knowledge (meaning, whatever charity you give, you first look at it and then give it)." Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "I know beforehand." So the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "Do not count, otherwise Allah the Exalted will also give to you by counting."

Mus'ab bin Sa'd narrates: Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) came to visit Ibn 'Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) when he was ill. He (Ibn 'Amir) said: O Ibn Umar! Will you not pray for me? So Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Allah does not accept prayer without ablution, nor does He accept charity given from unlawful wealth, and you have been the governor of Basra (from where you had income)."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever amasses wealth unlawfully and then gives it in charity, he will have no reward for it; its burden will be upon him."

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates about the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Once, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) visited the garden of Sayyidah Umm Mubashshir Ansariyyah (may Allah be pleased with her). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked her: Who planted this garden, a Muslim or a disbeliever? She replied: A Muslim. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whenever a Muslim plants a garden or a field, then whatever human, animal, or anything else eats from it, it is charity for him.