and He Most High says:

“O mankind, you are those in need of Allah.”

Allah Most High has praised two categories of the poor in the Quran: those entitled to alms and those entitled to fay’ (property acquired without fighting). Of the first category, He says:

“For the poor who are restricted in Allah’s cause and cannot travel through the land. Those unaware of their circumstances think them wealthy because they refrain from asking. You can recognize them by their appearance; they do not ask people persistently.”

Of the second category, who are the better of the two, He says:

“For the poor emigrants who were expelled from their homes and their property, seeking Allah’s bounty and pleasure and supporting Allah and His Messenger. They are the truthful.”

This describes the emigrants who abandoned sins and struggled against Allah’s enemies, inwardly and outwardly, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The believer is one whom people trust with their lives and wealth; the Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand Muslims are safe; the emigrant is one who abandons what Allah has forbidden; and the one who strives is one who struggles against his own soul for Allah’s sake.”

As for the hadith which some narrate, claiming that he said during the expedition to Tabūk:

“We have returned from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad,”

it has no basis, and no scholar versed in the Prophet’s sayings and deeds, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, has transmitted it. Fighting against the disbelievers is among the greatest deeds; indeed, it is the best voluntary deed a person can perform. Allah Most High says:

“Those believers who remain behind—other than those with disabilities—are not equal to those who strive in Allah’s cause with their wealth and their lives. Allah has favored those who strive with their wealth and their lives over