5 – When the gift is offered as charity to a poor person, it benefits the needy even if the amount is small, and the giver’s reward increases in proportion to the sound intention that accompanies it. The Exalted says: “and those who can find nothing to give except according to their means” (Q 9:79). The Prophet ﷺ also said: “Shield yourselves from the Fire, even if it be with half a date.”

6 – The report makes clear the neighbor’s right and the kindness that ought to be shown to him. By virtue of neighborhood alone he is entitled to one right; if he is a Muslim he gains the additional right of Islam; and if he is also a relative he enjoys, on top of both, the right of kinship. Thus the first category is owed one right, the second two, and the third three. Allah Most High says: “the near of kin, the neighbor who is distant, and the companion at your side” (Q 4:36). In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim it is related from Abū Dharr that the Prophet ﷺ said: “O Abū Dharr! When you cook broth, add extra water to it and see to your neighbors.”

7 – The ḥadith also shows that emphatic language is permissible when the situation warrants it. Here the aim is to spur people to kindness toward their neighbors and to ensure that the giver does not belittle anything he offers, however small.

8 – It further indicates that a woman may dispose of minor household items belonging to her husband—things customarily given away, such as a loaf of bread, a small amount of food or drink, and the like—unless he forbids her or she knows him to be miserly, in which case she may do so only with his permission.