Chapter 37: Spending favorite things for Allah's sake

allah, the exalted, says:

"by no means shall you attain al-birr (piety, righteousness - here it means allah's reward, i.e., jannah), unless you spend (in allah's cause) of that which you love.'' (3:92)

"o you who believe! spend of the good things which you have (legally) earned, and of that which we have produced from the earth for you, and do not aim at that which is bad to spend from it.'' (2:267)

297. anas (may allah be pleased with him) reported: abu talhah (may allah be pleased with him) was the richest among the ansar of al-madinah and possessed the largest property from palm-trees, and among his possessions what he loved most, was his garden known as bairuha' which was opposite the mosque, and messenger of allah (pbuh) often visited it and drank from its fresh water. when this ayah was revealed: "by no means shall you attain al-birr (piety, righteousness - here it means allah's reward, i.e., jannah), unless you spend (in allah's cause) of that which you love,'' (3:92), abu talhah came to messenger of allah (pbuh) and said, "allah says in his book: `by no means shall you attain al-birr, unless you spend (in allah's cause) of that which you love,' and the dearest of my property is bairuha' so i have given it as sadaqah (charity) for allah's sake, and i anticipate its reward with him; so spend it, o messenger of allah, as allah guides you.'' messenger of allah (pbuh) said, "well-done! that is profit earning property. i have heard what you have said, but i think you should spend it on your nearest relatives.'' so abu talhah (may allah be pleased with him) distributed it among nearest relatives and cousins.
[al-bukhari and muslim].

commentary:
1. this hadith mentions the spirit of obedience to allah and his prophet (pbuh) and effort which the companions of the prophet (pbuh) made for attaining a higher status in virtue.

2. to spend the best of one's property in the way of allah is a sign of perfection of faith.

3. in the matter of sadaqat (alms giving and charity), preference must be given to one's closest relations, provided they are poor and stand in need of help, otherwise, these should be spent on other deserving people.