Divine reward for modest charity

232. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, said: He who gives with his short hand is given by a long hand.

as-Sayyid ar-Raḍī says: The meaning of this saying is that even though what a man spends in charity from his possessions may be small, yet Allāh, the Sublime, gives good reward for it. And the two hands referred to, here means two favours. Thus, Amīr al-mu’minīn has differentiated between the favour of man and the favour of the Lord (Allāh) — exalted be the mention of His name — since he has described the first as small and the other as big. This is because the favours of Allāh are ever multiplied manifold to the favours of man since Allāh’s favours are basic in the sense that every other favour springs from it and turns to it.