"Vrs. 2:274. (309) It is an accepted fact even by scholars of the Sunni school that this verse was revealed in praise of [Hazrat] Ali who offered them only four dirhams and gave them in charity—one by night, one in day, one secretly and one openly. It is reported through Ibraham ibne Saleh, Yousuf bin Bilal, Muhammad bin Haroon, Muhammad bin Saleh, Abi Saleh and Ibne Abbas, that the Holy Prophet said that this verse was revealed in the praise of Ali since he parted with four dinars he possessed in this world, as said above. Once [when] Ali met the Holy Prophet, the Holy Prophet asked why he parted with whatever he had, Ali replied "to please God I had nothing more than this and I will be fully satisfied if God accepts it." This verse was revealed to the Holy Prophet."

(Source: S. V. Mir Ahmed Ali's translation of the Holy Qu'ran, p.237)

"Vrs. 2:265. (301) The extraordinary or special stress on charity that Islam lays, is a clear evidence of main or sole object of religion being the welfare of the human race as a whole, and thus the creed being undoubtedly a universal religion revealed by the Creator Lord of all, Who has Himself made Mercy incumbent upon Himself (Vr. 6:12 and 6:54).

No other religion in the world has stressed so much upon charity as Islam has done. It is a cardinal doctrine or the fundamental article of the practice of the faith, closely associated or identified with the 'Wajib' or the compulsory prayer to God. The faith, Islam, when translated into action take the form mainly of prayer and charity. Faith unless proved in action is nothing but a bogus claim, acceptable neither by man nor by God.

The merit of charity lies in the spirit or the intention underlying it. The tall trees of a garden do not very much depend upon the rainfall. To draw sufficient nutrition from the soil in which they have sent roots very deep, it makes very little difference to such trees whether it rains heavily or lightly. The heavy or light rain is compared to external circumstances that seems to make a difference in the productive aspect of charity.

The verse exhorts to assure the sincere believers in particular and every member of the human family in general that every act of virtue has an energy of its own, to grow in this life and also in the next, and it has fountains of life to draw upon even if there were nothing to nourish them."

(Source: S. V. Mir Ahmed Ali's translation of the Holy Qu'ran, p.234-5)

"Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "If anyone gives as sadaqa the equivalent of a date from something lawfully earned, for God accepts only what is lawful, God will accept it with His right hand, then foster it for the one who gave it as one of you fosters his colt, till it becomes like a mountain." (Bukhari and Muslim) "

(Source: Dr. James Robson, Mishkat al Masabih, Vol. 1, p.402)

"Abu Dharr reported God's messenger as saying, "When you smile in your brother's face, or enjoin what is reputable, or forbid what is objectionable, or direct someone who has lost the way, or help a man who has bad eyesight, or remove stones, thorns and bones from the road, or pour water from your bucket into your brother's, it counts to you as 'sadaqa'. Tirmidhi transmitted it , saying that is a gharib tradition. "

(Source: Dr. James Robson, Mishkat al Masabih, Vol. 1, p.405-6)

"Ali reported God's messenger as saying, "Give the sadaqa without delay, for it stands in the way of calamity." Razin transmitted it."

(Source: Dr. James Robson, Mishkat al Masabih, Vol. 1, p.401)

"Marthad b. 'Abdallah said one of the companions of God's messenger told him that he had heard him say, "The believer's shade on the day of resurrection will be his 'sadaqa'." Ahmad transmitted it."

(Source: Dr. James Robson, Mishkat al Masabih, Vol. 1, p.409)