[Explanation]
The author—may Allah have mercy on him—opens this chapter, “Showing gentleness to orphans, the weak, the poor, and the like,” with the Prophet’s ﷺ words: “The one who strives on behalf of a widow or a destitute person is like a warrior in the path of Allah.” He added—so I think—“and like one who stands (in prayer) without tiring and like one who fasts without ever breaking his fast.” The person who “strives on their behalf” is the one who sees to their concerns, bears their expenses, and attends to all that they need.

arāmil (widows) are those who have no provider, whether male or female, and the masākīn (destitute) are the poor. From this it follows that anyone who supports his own dependents and works for their sake—dependents who have no means of earning a living—counts as one who strives for widows and the destitute. He therefore merits the reward promised: he will be like a warrior in the path of Allah, or like one who prays without fatigue and fasts without interruption.

The ḥadith also exposes the ignorance of some people who roam about to the right and to the left, leaving their families at home with the womenfolk and providing them with no guardian. Their households are thus neglected, for the family needs spending upon, care, and supervision. You find such men wandering through villages—and sometimes even cities—without any real necessity; it is merely something they fancy, imagining that this is better than remaining with their families to discipline and nurture them.

This notion is mistaken. Staying with one’s family, guiding one’s sons and daughters, tending to one’s wife, and looking after all who depend on him is better than going out claiming to guide others while abandoning the very household that has a greater claim upon him.