what is wrong is charity; and in the intimate relations of any one of you there is charity; reconciling two people is charity; helping a man by lifting his load onto his mount is charity; a kind word is charity; every step you take on the way to the prayer is charity; removing something harmful from the road is charity; and meeting your Muslim brother with a cheerful face is charity.” These noble statements are taken from three different ḥadiths.

3 – Every act of goodness a person performs counts as charity. Charity (ṣadaqah) is whatever the giver offers, and therefore it covers both the obligatory and the recommended. The ḥadith shows that such deeds share the same reward as formal charity.

4 – The ḥadith indicates that charity is not confined to its conventional form—giving money voluntarily—nor is it reserved for the well-to-do. In most situations anyone can perform charity without difficulty, for every good action or word a person offers is recorded for him as an act of charity.

5 – One of the divine purposes behind the variety of acts of worship and kinds of benevolence is to test people in carrying them out. Some find financial worship easier than bodily worship, while for others the reverse is true. The Almighty therefore tests His servants to see who will place obedience to his Lord above the inclinations of his own soul, and He diversified the acts so that every seeker of good may do what lies within his capacity and suits his condition.