Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
Qurʾān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn al-Adab al-Mufrad al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Bukhārī Muslim Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Nasāʾī Ibn Mājah Dārimī Aḥmad Mālik Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī

The best charity is spending on one’s family and in Allah’s cause

muslim:994 – Abū al-Rabīʿ al-Zahrānī And Qutaybah b. Saʿīd > Ḥammād b. Zayd > Abū al-Rabīʿ > Ḥammād > Ayyūb > Abū Qilābah > Abū Asmāʾ > Thawbān

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The best dinar a man spends is a dinar he spends on his family; and a dinar a man spends on his ˹riding˺ animal in the path of Allah; and a dinar he spends on his companions in the path of Allah.”

Abu Qilabah said: And he began with the family. Then Abu Qilabah said: And what man has a greater reward than a man who spends on young family ˹members˺, keeping them chaste, or through whom Allah benefits them and makes them self-sufficient?

مسلم:٩٩٤ – حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الرَّبِيعِ الزَّهْرَانِيُّ وَقُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ كِلاَهُمَا عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ قَالَ أَبُو الرَّبِيعِ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادٌ حَدَّثَنَا أَيُّوبُ عَنْ أَبِي قِلاَبَةَ عَنْ أَبِي أَسْمَاءَ عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: «أَفْضَلُ دِينَارٍ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ، دِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ عَلَى عِيَالِهِ، وَدِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى دَابَّتِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، وَدِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ عَلَى أَصْحَابِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ».

قَالَ أَبُو قِلَابَةَ: وَبَدَأَ بِالْعِيَالِ. ثُمَّ قَالَ أَبُو قِلَابَةَ: وَأَيُّ رَجُلٍ أَعْظَمُ أَجْرًا مِنْ رَجُلٍ يُنْفِقُ عَلَى عِيَالٍ صِغَارٍ، يُعِفُّهُمْ، أَوْ يَنْفَعُهُمُ اللَّهُ بِهِ وَيُغْنِيهِمْ؟

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Collected by Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah, Aḥmad, Ibn Ḥibbān, Nasāʾī's Kubrá, Bayhaqī, Suyūṭī
tirmidhi:1966 – Qutaybah > Ḥammād b. Zayd > Ayyūb > Abū Qilābah > Abū Asmāʾ > Thawbān

"The most virtuous of the Dinar is the Dinar spent by a man on his dependants, and the Dinar spent by a man on his beast in the Cause of Allah, and the Dinar spent by a man on his companions in the Cause of Allah." Abu Qilabah (one of the narrators) said: " He began with the dependants." Then he said: "And which man is greater in reward than a man who spends upon his depandants, having little ones by which Allah causes him to abstain (from the unlawful) and by which Allah enriches him."

Abū ʿĪsá said that this Ḥadīth is Ḥasan-Ṣaḥīḥ.

الترمذي:١٩٦٦ – حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ عَنْ أَيُّوبَ عَنْ أَبِي قِلاَبَةَ عَنْ أَبِي أَسْمَاءَ عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ

أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ قَالَ أَفْضَلُ الدِّينَارِ دِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى عِيَالِهِ وَدِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى دَابَّتِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَدِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى أَصْحَابِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ قَالَ أَبُو قِلاَبَةَ بَدَأَ بِالْعِيَالِ ثُمَّ قَالَ فَأَىُّ رَجُلٍ أَعْظَمُ أَجْرًا مِنْ رَجُلٍ يُنْفِقُ عَلَى عِيَالٍ لَهُ صِغَارٍ يُعِفُّهُمُ اللَّهُ بِهِ وَيُغْنِيهِمُ اللَّهُ بِهِ

قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ

ibnmajah:2760 – ʿImrān b. Mūsá al-Laythī > Ḥammād b. Zayd > Ayyūb > Abū Qilābah > Abū Asmāʾ > Thawbān

“The best Dinar that a man can spend is a Dinar that he spends on his family, a Dinar that he spends on a horse in the cause of Allah, and a Dinar that a man spends on his companions in the cause of Allah.”

ابن ماجة:٢٧٦٠ – حَدَّثَنَا عِمْرَانُ بْنُ مُوسَى اللَّيْثِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ حَدَّثَنَا أَيُّوبُ عَنْ أَبِي قِلاَبَةَ عَنْ أَبِي أَسْمَاءَ عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ أَفْضَلُ دِينَارٍ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ دِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ عَلَى عِيَالِهِ وَدِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ عَلَى فَرَسٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَدِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى أَصْحَابِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ

ahmad:22453 – ʿAffān > Ḥammād b. Zayd Amlāh ʿAlaynā > Ayyūb > Abū Qilābah > Abū Asmāʾ > Thawbān

"The most virtuous of the Dinar is the Dinar spent by a man on his dependants, and the Dinar spent by a man on his beast in the Cause of Allah, and the Dinar spent by a man on his companions in the Cause of Allah." Abu Qilabah (one of the narrators) said: " He began with the dependants." Then he said: "And which man is greater in reward than a man who spends upon his depandants, having little ones by which Allah causes him to abstain (from the unlawful) and by which Allah enriches him." (Using translation from Tirmidhī 1966)

أحمد:٢٢٤٥٣ – حَدَّثَنَا عَفَّانُ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ أَمْلَاهُ عَلَيْنَا حَدَّثَنَا أَيُّوبُ عَنْ أَبِي قِلَابَةَ عَنْ أَبِي أَسْمَاءَ عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ

أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ قَالَ أَفْضَلُ دِينَارٍ دِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى عِيَالِهِ وَدِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ عَلَى دَابَّتِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ قَالَ ثُمَّ قَالَ أَبُو قِلَابَةَ مِنْ قِبَلِهِ بَدَأَ بِالْعِيَالِ قَالَ وَأَيُّ رَجُلٍ أَعْظَمُ أَجْرًا مِنْ رَجُلٍ يُنْفِقُ عَلَى عِيَالِهِ صِغَارًا يُعِفُّهُمُ اللهُ بِهِ

ahmad:22406 – ʿAbd al-Raḥman b. Mahdī > Ḥammād / Ibn Zayd > Ayyūb > Abū Qilābah > Abū Asmāʾ > Thawbān

[Machine] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "The best dinar [coin] that a man spends is on his family, then on himself, then in the way of Allah, and then on his companions in the way of Allah." Abu Qilabah said, "He begins with his family." Sulaiman bin Harb said, "And it is not raised by a dinar spent by a man on his riding animal in the way of Allah."

أحمد:٢٢٤٠٦ – حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مَهْدِيٍّ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادٌ يَعْنِي ابْنَ زَيْدٍ عَنْ أَيُّوبَ عَنْ أَبِي قِلَابَةَ عَنْ أَبِي أَسْمَاءَ عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ أَفْضَلُ دِينَارٍ [دِينَارٌ] يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى عِيَالِهِ ثُمَّ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ ثُمَّ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ ثُمَّ عَلَى أَصْحَابِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ قَالَ أَبُو قِلَابَةَ فَيَبْدَأُ بِالْعِيَالِ وقَالَ سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ وَلَمْ يَرْفَعْهُ دِينَارٌ أَنْفَقَهُ رَجُلٌ عَلَىدَابَّتِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ

ذِكْرُ الْبَيَانِ بِأَنَّ نَفَقَةَ الْمَرْءِ عَلَى عِيَالِهِ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ النَّفَقَةِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ

ibnhibban:4242 – Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh b. al-Junayd > Qutaybah b. Saʿīd > Ḥammād b. Zayd > Ayyūb > Abū Qilābah > Abū Asmāʾ > Thawbān

"The most virtuous of the Dinar is the Dinar spent by a man on his dependants, and the Dinar spent by a man on his beast in the Cause of Allah, and the Dinar spent by a man on his companions in the Cause of Allah." Abu Qilabah (one of the narrators) said: " He began with the dependants." Then he said: "And which man is greater in reward than a man who spends upon his depandants, having little ones by which Allah causes him to abstain (from the unlawful) and by which Allah enriches him." (Using translation from Tirmidhī 1966)

ابن حبّان:٤٢٤٢ – أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْجُنَيْدِ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ عَنْ أَيُّوبَ عَنْ أَبِي قِلَابَةَ عَنْ أَبِي أَسْمَاءَ عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ

أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ قَالَ «أَفْضَلُ دِينَارٍ دِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى عِيَالِهِ وَدِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى دَابَّتِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَدِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى أَصْحَابِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ» قَالَ أَبُو قِلَابَةَ بَدَأَ بِالْعِيَالِ ثُمَّ قَالَ «وَأَيُّ رَجُلٍ أَعْظَمُ أَجْرًا مِنْ رَجُلٍ يُنْفِقُ عَلَى عِيَالٍ لَهُ صِغَارٍ يُعِفُّهُمُ اللَّهُ بِهِ وَيُغْنِيهِمُ اللَّهُ بِهِ»

nasai-kubra:9138 – Qutaybah b. Saʿīd > Ḥammād > Ayyūb > Abū Qilābah > Abū Asmāʾ > Thawbān

“The best Dinar that a man can spend is a Dinar that he spends on his family, a Dinar that he spends on a horse in the cause of Allah, and a Dinar that a man spends on his companions in the cause of Allah.” (Using translation from Ibn Mājah 2760)

الكبرى للنسائي:٩١٣٨ – أَخْبَرَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادٌ عَنْ أَيُّوبَ عَنْ أَبِي قِلَابَةَ عَنْ أَبِي أَسْمَاءَ عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ

أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ قَالَ «أَفْضَلُ دِينَارٍ دِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى عِيَالِهِ وَدِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى دَابَّتِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ وَدِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ عَلَى أَصْحَابِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ» قَالَ أَبُو قِلَابَةَ «بَدَأَ بِالْعِيَالِ»

bayhaqi:7757 – Abū ʿAbdullāh al-Ḥāfiẓ > Abū Bakr b. Isḥāq Imlāʾ > Yūsuf b. Yaʿqūb > Sulaymān b. Ḥarb And ʿĀrim Waʾabū al-Rabīʿ And Muḥammad b. ʿUbayd Wamusaddad And Muḥammad b. Abū Bakr > Ḥammād b. Zayd > Ayyūb > Abū Qilābah > Abū Asmāʾ > Thawbān

The most excellent dinar is one that a person spends on his family, and the dinar which he spends on his animal in Allah's path, and the dinar he spends on his companions in Allah's path. Abu Qilaba (one of the narrators) said: He (the narrator) started with family, and then Abu Qilaba said: Who is the person with greater reward than a person who spends on young members of his family (and thus) preserves (saves them from want) (and by virtue of which) Allah brings profit for them and makes them rich. (Using translation from Muslim 994)

البيهقي:٧٧٥٧ – أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو عَبْدِ اللهِ الْحَافِظُ ثنا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ إِمْلَاءً ثنا يُوسُفُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ ثنا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ وَعَارِمٌ وَأَبُو الرَّبِيعِ وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ وَمُسَدَّدٌ وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَبِي بَكْرٍ قَالُوا ثنا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ ثنا أَيُّوبُ عَنْ أَبِي قِلَابَةَ عَنْ أَبِي أَسْمَاءَ عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ أَفْضَلُ دِينَارٍ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ دِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ عَلَى عِيَالِهِ دِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى دَابَّتِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ دِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى أَصْحَابِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ قَالَ أَبُو قِلَابَةَ وَبَدَأَ بِالْعِيَالِ فَأِيُّ رَجُلٍ أَعْظَمُ أَجْرًا مِنْ رَجُلٍ يُنْفِقُ عَلَى عِيَالٍ صِغَارٍ يَقُوتُهُمُ اللهُ وَيَنْفَعُهُمْ بِهِ

رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ فِي الصَّحِيحِ عَنْ أَبِي الرَّبِيعِ

bayhaqi:15698 – Abū ʿAbdullāh al-Ḥāfiẓ > Abū Bakr b. Isḥāq Imlāʾ > Yūsuf b. Yaʿqūb > Sulaymān b. Ḥarb And ʿĀrim Waʾabū al-Rabīʿ And Muḥammad b. ʿUbayd Wamusaddad And Muḥammad b. Abū Bakr > Ḥammād b. Zayd > Ayyūb > Abū Qilābah > Abū Asmāʾ > Thawbān > Qāl Rasūl Allāh Ṣllá

The most excellent dinar is one that a person spends on his family, and the dinar which he spends on his animal in Allah's path, and the dinar he spends on his companions in Allah's path. Abu Qilaba (one of the narrators) said: He (the narrator) started with family, and then Abu Qilaba said: Who is the person with greater reward than a person who spends on young members of his family (and thus) preserves (saves them from want) (and by virtue of which) Allah brings profit for them and makes them rich. (Using translation from Muslim 994)

البيهقي:١٥٦٩٨ – وَأَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو عَبْدِ اللهِ الْحَافِظُ أَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ إِمْلَاءً أنا يُوسُفُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ نا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ وَعَارِمٌ وَأَبُو الرَّبِيعِ وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ وَمُسَدَّدٌ وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَبِي بَكْرٍ قَالُوا نا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ نا أَيُّوبُ عَنْ أَبِي قِلَابَةَ عَنْ أَبِي أَسْمَاءَ عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ أَفْضَلُ دِينَارٍ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ دِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ عَلَى عِيَالِهِ دِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى دَابَّتِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ دِينَارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى أَصْحَابِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ قَالَ أَبُو قِلَابَةَ وَبَدَأَ بِالْعِيَالِ فَأِيُّ رَجُلٍ أَعْظَمُ أَجْرًا مِنْ رَجُلٍ يُنْفِقُ عَلَى عِيَالٍ صِغَارٍ يَقُوتُهُمُ اللهُ وَيَنْفَعُهُمْ بِهِ

رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ فِي الصَّحِيحِ عَنْ أَبِي الرَّبِيعِ

suyuti:3753a –

“The best Dinar that a man can spend is a Dinar that he spends on his family, a Dinar that he spends on a horse in the cause of Allah, and a Dinar that a man spends on his companions in the cause of Allah.” (Using translation from Ibn Mājah 2760)

السيوطي:٣٧٥٣a –

"أفضل الدَّنانيرِ: دينارٌ يُنفقُهُ الرجلُ عليَّ، ودينارٌ يُنْفِقُهُ الرَّجُلُ على دابَّته في سبيلِ الله، ودينارٌ ينفِقُهُ الرجلُ على أصحابِه في سبيل الله".

[ط] الطيالسي [حم] أحمد [م] مسلم [ت] الترمذي [ن] النسائي [هـ] ابن ماجة [حب] ابن حبّان عن ثوبان