A Cheerful Face and Guiding Travelers Are Charity

📖Sunan al-Tirmidhī 1956
Abu Dharr reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Smiling in the face of your brother is your charity. Enjoining good and forbidding evil is charity. Guiding a lost man through the land is your charity. Lending your eyesight to a man who cannot see well is your charity. Removing rocks, thorns, and bones from the road is your charity. Pouring your leftovers into your brother’s vessel is your charity.

The Prophet ﷺ teaches that charity extends far beyond monetary contributions. Every act of kindness, assistance, or moral guidance toward others is considered charity. Even small gestures, like smiling or clearing obstacles, have spiritual value and benefit the community. Charity, in this sense, is about positively impacting the lives of others through actions and intentions.

How to practice this charity:

1. Smile at others to spread positivity.
2. Advise others toward good deeds and away from wrongs.
3. Guide those who are lost or need direction.
4. Assist people with disabilities or limitations.
5. Remove obstacles that may harm or inconvenience others.
6. Share food or help provide for those around you.

What we learn for today:

• Charity is not limited to wealth; small, thoughtful acts count.
• Helping others strengthens community and social bonds.
• Every positive action, even minor, is rewarded spiritually.
• True charity is consistent kindness, guidance, and care for others.

Why these acts are charity:

• They directly or indirectly benefit others.
• They demonstrate selflessness and compassion.
• They align with Allah’s commands to do good and avoid harm.
• Even minor acts, like smiling or clearing a path, count toward a believer’s deeds.

Quranic Context:

📖Quran 2:195
And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.

📖Quran 3:104
And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be successful.

📖Quran 5:2
And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.