990 – Tariq al-Muharibi (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “We arrived in Madinah and found the Messenger of Allah ﷺ standing on the pulpit addressing the people. He was saying, ‘The hand of the giver is the upper hand. Start with those you maintain: your mother and your father, your sister and your brother; then those who are nearest to you, and then the next nearest.’” It was recorded by al-Nasaʾi, and Ibn Hibban and al-Darqutni declared it authentic. (1)

Hadith grade: ḥasan (sound).

The beginning of this report is found in the Two Ṣaḥīḥs in the narration of Hakim ibn Hizam, where the Prophet ﷺ said, “The upper hand is better than the lower hand, and start with those you maintain.” The latter portion occurs in the Two Ṣaḥīḥs from Abu Hurayrah: “A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, whom should I treat most dutifully?’ He replied, ‘Your mother.’ The man asked, ‘Then who?’ He said, ‘Your mother.’ He asked again, ‘Then who?’ He said, ‘Your mother.’ He asked once more, ‘Then who?’ He said, ‘Your father.’” Some scholars said, “All its transmitters are reliable, and it has a corroborating chain from Ibn Masʿud recorded by al-Tabarani, which al-Munadhiri deemed ḥasan.”

Vocabulary notes
• “Wa-bdaʾ” (Start): from badaʾtu/badaʾa – to begin; that is, begin spending on those whose maintenance is obligatory for you.
• “Taʿūl” (you maintain): from ʿāla/yaʿūlu – to support and provide for; “ʿiyāl” are a person’s dependents. Hence, those you “maintain” are the ones you spend on.
• “Ummaka wa abaka” (your mother and your father): in the accusative because of an implied governing verb, i.e., “adhere to providing for them.”