This chapter is about ithar, putting others ahead of yourself even when you are in need. Sympathy (muwasah) means feeling another person's hardship and easing it from your own share, not from your surplus. The hadith here keep raising the bar: from sharing what is spare, to stretching a small meal, to going hungry so a guest can eat.
Notice that the people praised here are not wealthy donors. They are households with almost nothing, and that is the point. Watch how the Prophet (peace be upon him) treats a small act of giving as something Allah Himself admires, and how generosity becomes a mark of true faith rather than a luxury for those who can afford it.
Hadith 563
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
وعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: جاء رجل إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال: إنى مجهود، فأرسل إلى بعض نسائه، فقالت: والذى بعثك بالحق ما عندى إلا ماء، ثم أرسل إلى أخرى، فقالت مثل ذلك، حتى قلن كلهن مثل ذلك: لا والذى بعثك بالحق ما عندى إلا ماء. فقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم “ من يضيفه هذا الليلة؟” فقال رجل من الأنصار: أنا يا رسول الله، فانطلق به إلى رحله ، فقال لامرأته: أكرمي ضيف رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وفى رواية قال لامرأته : هل عندك شئ؟ قالت: لا، إلا قوت صبيانى. قال: فعلليهن بشئ.وإذا أرادوا العشاء فنوميهم. وإذا دخل ضيفنا فأطفئ السراج وأريه أنا نأكل، فقعدوا وأكل الضيف وبات طاويين، فلما أصبح ، غدا على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال: “لقد عجب الله من صنيعكما بضيفكما الليلة” ((متفق عليه)) .
A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said; "I am hard pressed by hunger." He (ﷺ) sent a word to one of his wives who replied: "By Him Who has sent you with the Truth, I have nothing except water." Then he sent the same message to another (wife) and received the same reply. He sent this message to all of them (i.e., his wives) and received the same reply. Then he (ﷺ) said, "Who will entertain this (man) as guest?" One of the Ansar said: "O Messenger of Allah, I will." So he took him home and said to his wife: "Serve the guest of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)." Another narration is: The Ansari asked his wife: "Have you got anything?" She answered: "Nothing, except a little food for the children." He said: "Keep them busy with something, and when they ask for food put them to sleep. When the guest enters, extinguish the light and give him the impression that we are also eating." So they sat down and the guest ate and they passed the night hungry. When he came to the Prophet (ﷺ) in the morning, he said to him, "Allah admired what you did with your guest last night." [Al- Bukhari and Muslim].
In plain words
When no one could feed a hungry guest, a host quietly gave up his own family's meal, even pretending to eat in the dark so the guest would not hold back; Allah was pleased with such selfless kindness.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 563 In-book reference : Introduction, Hadith 563
Hadith 564
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
وعنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم " طعام الاثنين كافي الثلاثة، وطعام الثلاثة كافي الأربعة" ((متفق عليه)) . وفى رواية لمسلم عن جابر رضي الله عنه ، عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: طعام الواحد يكفي الاثنين وطعام الاثنين يكفي الأربعة، وطعام الأربعة يكفي الثمانية.
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The food for two suffices for three; and the food for three suffices for four persons." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. In Muslim, Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The food for one person suffices for two; the food for two suffices for four, and the food for four suffices for eight persons."
In plain words
Food meant for a few can be stretched to feed more, so sharing a meal need not leave anyone wanting; generosity makes provision go further.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 564 In-book reference : Introduction, Hadith 564
Hadith 565
Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
عن أبي سعيد الخدرى قال: بينما نحن فى سفر مع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إذ جاء رجل على راحلة له ، فجعل يصرف بصره يمينا وشمالاً فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم :” من كان معه فضل ظهر فليعد به على من لا ظهر له، ومن كان له فضل من زاد فليعد به على من لا زاد له” فذكر من أصناف المال ما ذكر حتى رأينا أنه لا حق لأحد منا فى فضل. ((رواه مسلم)).
Once we were on a journey with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when a rider came and began looking right and left. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Whoever has an extra mount should offer it to him who is without it, and whoever has surplus food should give it to him who has nothing;" and he continued mentioning other properties until we thought that none of us had any right to surplus of his own property. [Muslim].
In plain words
On a journey the Prophet urged everyone with a spare mount or extra food to give to those who had none, until they felt no one had a right to hold on to a surplus while others lacked.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 565 In-book reference : Introduction, Hadith 565
Hadith 566
Sahl bin Sa'd (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
وعن سهل بن سعد رضي الله عنه، أن امرأة جاءت إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ببردة منسوجة فقالت: نسجتها لأكسوكها، فأخذها النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم محتاجاً إليها ، فخرج إلينا وإنها إزاره، فقال فلان، اكسونيها ما أحسنها! فقال:” نعم” فجلس النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فى المجلس ثم رجع فطواها ثم أرسل به إليه: فقال له القوم: ما أحسنت! لبسها النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم محتاجاً إليها ثم سألته وعلمت أنه لا يرد سائلاً ، فقال: إنى والله ما سألته لألبسها وإنما سألته لتكون كفني، قال سهل: فكانت كفنه. ((رواه البخاري))
A woman brought a woven piece of cloth to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said to him: "I have woven this sheet with my own hands for you to wear." He accepted it as he was in need of it. He later came out wearing it as a lower garment. Someone said: "How nice it is! Kindly give it to me." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Very well." He remained in our company for some time, then he went back, folded it and sent it to the man. The people said (to that man): "You did not do well. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) wore it and he was in need of it, and you asked him for it when you are well aware that he (ﷺ) never refuses a request." He said: "I swear by Allah that I did not ask it for wearing. I asked him for it so that it might be my shroud after my death." Sahl (the narrator of this Hadith) said: And in fact it was used as his shroud. [Al-Bukhari].
In plain words
A man asked the Prophet for a cloak he was wearing, not to use it but to keep it as his burial shroud, showing deep love for anything connected to the Prophet, and it indeed became his shroud.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 566 In-book reference : Introduction, Hadith 566
Hadith 567
Abu Musa (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
وعن أبي موسى رضي الله عنه قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : إن الأشعريين إذا أرملوا فى الغزو، أو قل طعام عيالهم بالمدينة جمعوا ما كان عندهم فى ثوب واحد، اقتسموه بينهم فى إناء واحد بالسوية فهم منى وأنا منهم” ((متفق عليه)) . “أرملوا” فرغ زادهم أو قارب الفراغ.
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When the Ash'ariyun run short of food in the Jihad or when they are at home in Al-Madinah, they collect all the provisions they have in a sheet and then divide it equally among themselves. They are of me and I am of them." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
In plain words
The Prophet praised a group who, in hardship or at home, pooled all their food and shared it equally, and he claimed them as his own for such fairness and unity.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 567 In-book reference : Introduction, Hadith 567