It is the best of deeds: ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: A man asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him): “Which deed in Islam is the best?” He said: “Feeding people and extending the greeting of peace to those you know and those you do not know.” Agreed upon.
And he pbuh said: ‘The best of deeds to Allah Almighty is happiness you bring to a Muslim or a hardship you relieve a Muslim of, or feed him so he will not be hungry, or pay his debt.’
· The best of people are the ones who feed the hungry.
The Messenger of Allah pbuh said: ‘The best of you is one who feeds people and extends the greeting.’ Narrated by Ahmad
· He will gain a great reward from Allah: A’isha may Allah be pleased with her said that the Messenger of Allah pbuh said: ‘Allah increases the date or a bite of food given in charity, just as one of you brings up a pony until he grows, so it becomes as big as the Mount of Uhud’.
· Gain closeness to Allah: (Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah, Glorified and Exalted, will say on the Day of Judgment: ‘O son of Adam, I was ill, but you did not visit Me.’ He will respond: ‘O Lord, how could I visit You and You are the Lord of the worlds?’ Allah will say: ‘Did you not know that My Servant, so-and-so, was ill but you did not visit him? Do you not know that if you had visited him, you would have found Me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food, but you did not feed Me.’ He will respond: ‘O Lord, how could I feed You and You are the Lord of the worlds?’ He will say: ‘Did you not know that My Servant, so-and-so, asked you for food, but you did not feed him? Do you not know that if you had fed him, you would have found (its reward) with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you for water, but you did not give Me any.’ He will respond: ‘O Lord, how could I give You (water) to drink and You are the Lord of the worlds?’ And Allah will say: ‘My Servant, so-and-so, asked you for a drink, but you did not give him one. Do you not know that if you had given him a drink, you would have found (its reward) with Me?'”)
One gets double rewards from Allah : ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that they slaughtered a sheep, so the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) asked: “What is left of it?” She replied: “Nothing is left except its shoulder.” He said: “All of it is left except its shoulder.”
· You get Aid from Allah: when the Prophet pbuh was terrified by the Angel Gabriel (Jibril) pbuh in the cave, Khadijah may Allah be pleased with her said: “Do not worry,” she said, “for by Him who has dominion over Khadijah’s soul, I hope that you are the Prophet of this nation. Allah would never humiliate you, for you are good to your relatives, you are true to your word, you help those who are in need, you support the weak, you feed the guest and you answer the call of those who are in distress.” Al-Bukhari and Muslim
· Survival from the calamities of Judgment Day:
(and give food—despite their desire for it—to the poor, the orphan, and the captive, ˹saying to themselves,˺ “We feed you only for the sake of Allah, seeking neither reward nor thanks from you. We fear from our Lord a horribly distressful Day.” So Allah will deliver them from the horror of that Day, and grant them radiance and joy,) Al-Insan 76 : 8 -11
انه خير الأعمال : فعن عبدالله بن عمرو بن العاص رضي الله عنهما أن رجلا سأل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: أي الإسلام خير ؟ قال : ( تطعم الطعام وتقرأ السلام على من عرفت ومن لم تعرف ) متفق عليه .وقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم:( أحب الأعمال إلى الله سرور تدخله علي مسلم ، او تكشف عنه كربة ، او تطرد عنه جوعا، أو تقضي عنه دينا ) صحيح الجامع.
أن خير الناس من يقوم به : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم:( خيركم من أطعم الطعام و رد السلام) رواه أحمد.
له أجر جزيل عند الله : ففي مسند الإمام أحمد عن عائشة رضي الله عنها أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال:( إن الله ليربي لأحدكم التمرة واللقمة كما يربي أحدكم فلوة أو فصيله ، حتى يكون مثل أحد).
قربه من الله : عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم:( إن الله عز وجل يقول يوم القيامة ياابن آدم مرضت فلم تعدني ،قال يارب كيف أعودك وأنت رب العالمين ، قال أما علمت ان عبدي فلانا مرض فلم تعده أما علمت انك لو عدته لوجدتني عنده ، يا ابن آدم استطاعتك فلم تطعمني قال : يارب وكيف اطعمك وانت رب العالمين، قال: أما علمت انه استطعمك عبدي فلان فلم تطعمه ، أما علمت أنك لو أطعمته لوجدت ذلك عندي ) رواه مسلم .
له أجر مضاعف عند الله : ففي سنن الترمذي عن عائشة رضي الله عنها أنهم ذبحوا شاة فقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم:( ما بقي منها ؟ قالت: ما بقي منها إلا كتفها ، قال: بقي كلها غير كتفها ).
به تنال معونة الله : عندما فزع نبي الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من جبريل عليه السلام في الغار قالت له خديجة رضي الله عنها:( كلا أبشر، فوالله لا يخزيك الله أبدا،والله إنك لتصل الرحم، وتصدق الحديث، وتحمل الكل ، وتكسب المعدوم، وتقري الضيف ، وتعين على نوائب الحق ) رواه البخاري ومسلم.
النجاة من أهوال يوم القيامة : قال الله تعالى:( ويطعمون الطعام على حبه مسكينا ويتيما وأسيرا * انما نطعمكم لوجه الله لا نريد منكم جزاء ولا شكورا * انا نخاف من ربنا يوما عبوسا قمطريرا* فوقاهم الله شر ذلك اليوم ولقاهم نضرة وسرورا ) الانسان 76 :8_11.