—and then unload them. Sometimes a load falls on a porter’s foot and cuts him, yet so long as he is still carrying he feels nothing; only when the work is finished does he notice it and begin to hurt.

Thus, distracting the patient from his illness, gladdening him, and instilling in him the hope that Allah will heal him are all acts of goodness that make him forget the sickness and may even become a means of recovery.

Therefore every act of kindness is charity. If someone beside you is distressed, sweat pouring down his sides, and you cool him with a fan, that is charity for you—it is an act of kindness. If you greet guests cheerfully, hasten to serve them, and the like, that too counts as charity.

Consider Abraham, peace be upon him, when the angels came to him as guests. They said, “Salāman (Peace).” He replied, “Salām (Peace).” The scholars explain that Abraham’s “Salām” is more eloquent than the angels’ “Salāman,” for the latter is a verbal clause that implies something transient and newly occurring, whereas Abraham’s nominal clause connotes permanence and continuity, and is therefore more expressive.

What else did he, peace be upon him, do? He slipped away (rāgha) to his household and brought a fat calf. The scholars say that rāgha means he withdrew quickly and quietly—an aspect of fine hospitality—so that they would not stop him or say, “Wait, we do not want anything.” “He slipped away to his family and brought a fat calf” (Quran 51:26), and in another verse: “a roasted (hanīdh) calf” (Quran 11:69).

Hanīdh means roasted, and roasted meat is known to be tastier than boiled meat because its flavor remains within it. “He brought a calf,” and the scholars say that