The poorer Companions came to the Prophet ﷺ with a worry that was really a sign of their love for good: 'The wealthy have taken all the rewards. They pray as we pray and fast as we fast, but they give in charity, and we have nothing to give.' They were not jealous of money; they were jealous of reward.
And the Prophet ﷺ answered by flinging the doors of charity wide open, so wide that no one, however poor, is ever locked out of giving.
Where this hadith comes from
It is narrated by Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (ra), one of the early and famously austere Companions, and recorded by Imam Muslim in his Sahih (no. 1006). Scholars count it among the authentic foundations of how Islam understands charity, and Imam an-Nawawi chose it for his Forty precisely because it widens sadaqah far beyond money.
The setting is given inside the report itself: some of the poorer Companions came to the Prophet ﷺ troubled that the wealthy were giving in charity from their surplus while they had nothing to give. The hadith is the Prophet's answer to that worry, so the occasion is woven into the text rather than drawn from a separate, weaker account.
The key words
What it means, line by line
The Companions' complaint, 'the wealthy have made off with the rewards,' is the language of people racing toward Allah who fear falling behind, not people coveting comfort. The Prophet ﷺ does not scold the worry; he answers it by asking, 'Has not Allah made things for you to give in charity?', then listing them: every tasbihah, takbeerah, tahmeedah, and tahleelah is a sadaqah, as is enjoining good and forbidding evil.
Then he extends charity even into a spouse's lawful intimacy, and when the Companions are surprised that a desire could carry reward, he reasons with them: had it been pursued unlawfully it would have been a sin, so fulfilling it lawfully is itself rewarded. The point is that money is removed as the price of generosity; sincerity and lawful intent turn ordinary acts into worship.
The Qur'an frames this same outlook as the right response to differing lots in life: rather than envy another's portion, the believer competes in good.
Reward they could not buy
Notice what these Companions wanted. Not wealth, not comfort, but nearness to Allah and the reward of giving. Their complaint was the complaint of people in a race toward Him, afraid of being left behind. This is itself a beautiful state of heart, and the Prophet ﷺ honoured it.
The Qur'an describes exactly this longing as the right response to life: not to envy others' provision, but to compete in good.
Every glorification is a charity
Then the Prophet ﷺ redefined charity itself. Has not Allah given you things to give away? Every 'subhanallah' is a charity. Every 'alhamdulillah' is a charity. Every 'la ilaha illallah' and every 'Allahu akbar' is a charity. Enjoining good is charity, forbidding evil is charity, even meeting your spouse with love is a charity.
In one stroke he removed money as the price of admission to generosity. Charity, it turns out, is not mainly about wealth; it is about a heart that keeps giving good into the world in whatever form it can. The empty-handed have hands full of dhikr and kindness, and every bit of it counts.
A race no one is shut out of
The genius of the answer is that it does not lower the rich; it raises everyone else. The wealthy can still give their wealth, and that remains good. But now the poor man walking to the mosque, glorifying Allah under his breath, helping a neighbour, smiling at a stranger, is also running hard in the same race, and may even outrun the rich with the sincerity of his heart.
So no one is ever stuck on the sidelines of goodness. Whatever your means, you have currency to spend for Allah today, and the exchange rate is set by sincerity, not by sum.
Carry this with you
You are never too poor to give. Charity is wider than wealth.
Envy reward, not money.
The Companions longed for nearness to Allah, not comfort. Let your competition be in good.
Every dhikr is a charity.
'Subhanallah', 'alhamdulillah', a kind word, enjoining good, all counted as sadaqah.
Charity is wider than wealth.
It is a heart that keeps giving good into the world in whatever form it can.
No one is on the sidelines.
Whatever your means, you have currency to spend for Allah today. Sincerity sets the value, not the sum.
A du'a to carry
رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَىَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَٰلِحًا تَرْضَىٰهُ
Rabbi awzi'ni an ashkura ni'mataka llati an'amta 'alayya wa 'ala walidayya wa an a'mala salihan tardah
My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do righteousness of which You approve. (An-Naml 27:19)
A du'a for a giving heart
Some of the Prophet's poorest Companions ached at the thought of being outpaced in good, and he answered by handing them a wealth no one could take: that every remembrance, every kindness, every small good is a charity that counts.
So never stand at the edge of generosity thinking you have nothing to offer. Your tongue, your hands, your smile are full of currency for Allah. Spend it freely today.
O Allah, enable us to be grateful for Your blessings and to do the good that pleases You. Make our tongues and our hands givers of charity, and let us race toward You with hearts that never feel too poor to give. Ameen.
The hadith is from sunnah.com: the poor Companions and the Prophet's reply that every glorification is a charity, narrated by Abu Dharr (ra), Sahih Muslim 1006, graded sahih. Qur'an citations (2:148, in part, and 27:19) are in Uthmani script verified via quran.ai (ar-uthmani-minimal) with the Saheeh International translation. Per the editorial policy this stays with the spiritual meaning (charity wider than wealth, competing in good). FOR SCHOLAR REVIEW before publication.