Even a Smile is a charity

  

Salaam and peace to all--
What do you think of when you hear “charity”?
Giving to the poor, right?
That’s the standard, and there are various rulings for zakaat (obligatory charity) in Islamic law, but there’s another category of extra charity that brings one closer to God (called “sadaqah”), for which an interesting story comes to mind:
One day, a group of poor Muslims (most of the early ones were, but there were some wealthy ones, too) came to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who himself chose to be one of the poor because of their special status with God. They were apparently despondent and asked: “O Messenger of God, the rich have taken all the rewards! They pray like we pray, they fast like we fast, and they give in charity from their extra wealth (which they could not do).”
He said: “Has not God made things/acts for you to do in charity? Verily, every tasbeeh (glorification of God/SubhaanAllah), every takbeer (exhaulting God/Allahu Akbar), every tahmeedah (praising God/Alhamdulillah), every tahleelah (unification of God, Laa ilaaha ill Allah), every ordering of good, every forbidding of evil…is a charitable act.”
In related hadiths/sayings, he said:
“Your smiling at your brother (or sister) is a charitable act. Your ordering good and eradicating evil is charity. Your guiding a man who is lost in the land is a charity. Your helping the man who is weak in sight to see is a charity. Your removing a stone, thorn or bone from the road is a charity. Your emptying your cup into the cup of your brother is a charitable act.”
The early Muslims were overjoyed at this news, and although they knew the rich could easily do the same, the message conveyed so much more:

• Good deeds go beyond obligatory acts of worship
• Charity goes beyond wealth; even the poor can give in charity!
• Remembrance of God is the peak of goodness, since it sets the stage for other acts
• Helping others is an integral part of our faith: without it, our faith is incomplete.
• If even a smile is charity, we may be greedy when we don’t! Small deeds mean so much. Psychologists now know the effects of smiling for both the one who smiles, and the one being smiled at. Amazing.

[In case anyone is wondering what the connection between charity and dhikr/praising and remembering God with words would be: the point of dhikr is to remember God, to seek His guidance and satisfaction with us, to be aware of His presence, to gain rewards and higher levels of spirituality, and to become better people. By being better people, we should therefore be more apt to do more good deeds, and help influence others to be better, too. And the cycle of "paying it forward" should continue...that's the hope].
If that wasn’t enough to make them happy, the prophet even said (on a separate occasion):

“Keep your evil (deeds) away/safe from the people, and that will be a charitable act from yourself for yourself (and them).”