If a person knows himself to possess patience and reliance upon Allah, and he has some means by which he can earn, then there is no harm in his giving in charity that which reduces his means of support. But if he does not know himself to possess patience, reliance upon Allah, and the ability to replace what he has spent, then the matter is as the author has stated.

Thus, if we suppose that, after giving charity that reduces his means of support, he would go out begging from people, this is not permissible. But if he knows that, after giving charity that reduces his family’s means of support, he will go out to work, buy, and sell—as Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, used to do—then there is nothing wrong with that.

As for the story of the guest, it may be said that the Anṣārī’s family agreed to this and bore it patiently. Honouring a guest is not merely voluntary; rather, it is obligatory, and thus falls under the category of what is obligatory.

As for Allah’s praise of the Anṣār in His saying:

“And those who were settled in the city and embraced faith before them love those who emigrated to them, and find no desire in their hearts for what they have been given, but give them preference over themselves, even though they are in need.” [al-Ḥashr: 9]

This is as we have said concerning one who knows himself to possess patience and reliance upon Allah, who can endure, and who will find a replacement for what he has spent.

His saying, “and find no desire in their hearts for what they have been given” [al-Ḥashr: 9], means: for what the Emigrants were given.

Allah granted the Emigrants a favour above the Anṣār, yet the Anṣār do not find within themselves any desire for what the Emigrants were given, such that they would envy them.

Thus, in His saying, “in their hearts,” the pronoun refers to the Anṣār; and in His saying, “for what they have been given,” the pronoun refers to the Emigrants.

(The Book of Zakah is complete, and all praise is due to Allah.)