There is a further corroborating report for this in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, who narrated that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “Whoever spends two things in Allah’s cause will be called by the keepers of Paradise—by the keepers of every gate: ‘O so-and-so, come!’” Al-Bukhari and others reported it, and al-Bukhari has variant wordings of it. It is included in my Mukhtasar al-Bukhari (Book of Fasting, chapter 4). Al-Bazzar (1709, Kashf) also reported the fourth section in similar wording from the hadith of Anas ibn Malik.

Note: Al-Hafiz said (6/36): “His words, ‘two things,’ mean two items of whatever kind he spends.” I say: This is supported by an addition in al-Bukhari’s version, worded: “of any of the things.” He then said: “The word zawj may refer to one or to two, but here it definitely refers to one. His phrase, ‘the keepers of every gate,’ seems to involve inverted word order, for what is meant is: ‘the keepers of each gate.’ Al-Muhallab said: This hadith shows that jihad is the best of deeds, since the fighter in jihad is given the reward of one who prays, fasts, and gives charity, even if he does not perform those deeds. For the gate of al-Rayyan is for those who fast, yet this hadith mentions that the fighter in jihad is called from all those gates for spending a small amount of wealth in Allah’s cause.” End quote.

However, his inference from the hadith’s apparent meaning is refuted by what I have previously cited under “Fasting”: an addition in Ahmad’s version, which states: “For the people of every deed there is a gate from which they are called by virtue of that deed.” This indicates that what is meant by “Allah’s cause” is broader than jihad, encompassing it as well as other righteous deeds.