Charity · a Light

A smile counts as charity in the ledger

Abu Dharr al-Ghifari came from a poor tribe and had almost nothing to give away. He was told by the Prophet ﷺ that smiling in the face of his brother was an act of charity, and that he should not think little of any good deed, even meeting another person with a cheerful face. The point was practical rather than sentimental. Abu Dharr worried openly that the rich were buying rewards he could not afford. The answer changed the currency. What is asked for is attention rather than money, and the poorest man in the mosque had as much of that as anyone else in it.

Abu Dharr al-Ghifari · Madinah

Source · Tirmidhi 1956, graded hasan; Muslim 2626