, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “A dinar you spend in the cause of Allah, a dinar you spend to free a slave, a dinar you give in charity to a poor person, and a dinar you spend on your family—the one that brings the greatest reward is the one you spend on your family.”

In Sahīh Muslim (1), Abū Umāmah reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “O son of Adam, if you spend your surplus, it is better for you; if you withhold it, it is worse for you. You are not blameworthy when you have only enough to meet your needs. Begin with those whom you support, and the giving hand is better than the receiving hand.”

This is the interpretation of Allah’s words: “They ask you what [A/Q 57] they should spend. Say, ‘The surplus.’ Thus…” [al-Baqarah 2:219]—meaning what exceeds one’s needs. This is because a man’s spending on himself and his family is an individual obligation, unlike spending on military expeditions and on (2) the poor, which is, in principle, either a communal obligation or recommended. It may, however, become individually binding if no one else undertakes it (3), for feeding the hungry is obligatory. Hence the hadith states: “If the beggar were telling the truth, whoever turned him away would not prosper.” (4) Imam Ahmad cited this report and stated that when the beggar is known to be truthful, feeding him is obligatory (5).