with those you support. The best charity is that which is given from surplus wealth. Whoever strives to preserve his dignity, Allah will grant him dignity; and whoever seeks sufficiency, Allah will enrich him.’ Narrated by al-Bukhari.

[Explanation]
All of the ahadith that the author—may Allah have mercy on him—has cited in the chapter on spending for one’s household underscore the virtue of providing for one’s family. They establish that such spending is superior to giving in Allah’s path, to emancipating slaves, and to almsgiving to the poor. The reason is that your family are those whom Allah has specifically charged you to maintain; their support is a personal obligation (fard ‘ayn), whereas spending on others is a communal obligation (fard kifayah). An individual obligation is always superior to a communal one.

In many cases, spending on those outside one’s household is merely voluntary, and an obligatory act is superior to a voluntary one. As Allah says in the sacred hadith: ‘My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him.’

Satan, however, urges a person toward voluntary acts and cools his enthusiasm for what is obligatory. You may therefore see someone keen to give charity yet neglecting his duty: he donates to a needy person but leaves his family’s rights unfulfilled; he gives to the destitute but ignores what is incumbent upon himself—such as repaying his debts. You might find him owing money, the creditor pressing for payment, yet he does not settle it; instead, he gives alms to the poor and perhaps even travels for ʿumrah or