Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 1443
sahih

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The example of a miser and an almsgiver is like the example of two persons wearing iron cloaks." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) also said, "The example of an almsgiver and a miser is like the example of two persons who have two iron cloaks on them from their breasts to their collar bones, and when the almsgiver wants to give in charity, the cloak becomes capacious till it covers his whole body to such an extent that it hides his fingertips and covers his footprints (obliterates his tracks). (1) And when the miser wants to spend, it (the iron cloak) sticks and every ring gets stuck to its place and he tries to widen it, but it did not become wide.

حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى، حَدَّثَنَا وُهَيْبٌ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ طَاوُسٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ مَثَلُ الْبَخِيلِ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقِ كَمَثَلِ رَجُلَيْنِ، عَلَيْهِمَا جُبَّتَانِ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ ‏"‏‏.‏ وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْيَمَانِ أَخْبَرَنَا شُعَيْبٌ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الزِّنَادِ أَنَّ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ حَدَّثَهُ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏"‏ مَثَلُ الْبَخِيلِ وَالْمُنْفِقِ كَمَثَلِ رَجُلَيْنِ، عَلَيْهِمَا جُبَّتَانِ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ، مِنْ ثُدِيِّهِمَا إِلَى تَرَاقِيهِمَا، فَأَمَّا الْمُنْفِقُ فَلاَ يُنْفِقُ إِلاَّ سَبَغَتْ ـ أَوْ وَفَرَتْ ـ عَلَى جِلْدِهِ حَتَّى تُخْفِيَ بَنَانَهُ وَتَعْفُوَ أَثَرَهُ، وَأَمَّا الْبَخِيلُ فَلاَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُنْفِقَ شَيْئًا إِلاَّ لَزِقَتْ كُلُّ حَلْقَةٍ مَكَانَهَا، فَهُوَ يُوَسِّعُهَا وَلاَ تَتَّسِعُ ‏"‏‏.‏ تَابَعَهُ الْحَسَنُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ عَنْ طَاوُسٍ فِي الْجُبَّتَيْنِ‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 24, Hadith 46
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 2, Book 24, Hadith 523 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The charity and alms which a person takes from his wealth for righteous purposes after upholding the rights of himself and his dependents so that the one giving alms does not become a person in need after offering his charity to someone, is one of the best acts of obedience, and greatest pious deeds which is pleasing to Allah, The Almighty. It has laudable consequences in this world and in the Hereafter, whereas miserliness and greed are the opposite of the aforementioned; so, their consequences are disastrous in this world and the Hereafter. In this hadeeth, The Prophet ﷺ gave a parable regarding the miser and charitable almsgiver, where he ﷺ likens them to two men wearing jubbahs, woven of iron. The jubbah is similar to the cloak, which is worn over other clothes. This garment (as worn by the two men presented in the example of the Prophet ﷺ) went from their breast [down] to where are the two bones at the top of the chest that point towards the side[s] of the mouth, located between the gap of the upper chest and neck [i.e., collarbones]. This is a reference as to how small the jubbah was for [both] the charitable person and miser. So, the one who spends charitably is given a gift when the jubbah worn by him became long and abundant (due to his almsgiving); i.e., it increased in size and length upon him, or “became plentiful over his skin,” and immersed his body “to the point that it covers his fingertips,” meaning: that it became long and flowed over him until it covered his entire body. “And eliminates his tracks”, i.e., it erases the steps that he takes [as he walks]. This is an explanation for the incredible length of the garment on its owner. As for the miser, every time he refrains from giving alms and stops spending, his jubbah will tighten on him until every ring clings to his skin. He will try to stretch it out with his hand while it is very tight, but it will not widen to release its grip. What is intended by this parable that if the generous are devoted to almsgiving, his chest will be widened by it, and his soul will become pleasant; and will thus amplify in his spending [and giving charity]. And the miser, if he talks to himself about almsgiving, will become stingy. Then his chest will narrow, and his hands will be clenched. It was said: it means that if the one who spends does so charitably, the alms will expiate his sins and wipe them away, just as the jubbah when it enshrouded him abundantly, concealed him, and safeguarded him [from harm]. The miser does not even obey himself in offering charity, so his offenses will remain uncovered and exposed. From the other benefits that we can conclude from this hadeeth is that it highlights that every time the one who offers alms extends his hand with goodness, Allah extends His grace to him so that He will repay him multiple times over what he spent for His sake. And every time the miser clenches his hands, Allah constricts him, and fills his heart with the fear of becoming poor, and despair of recovering that which he spent..
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