Helping and serving the weak and needy are among the best and most rewarding acts of righteousness. In this hadeeth, Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that they were once with the Prophet ﷺ (on a journey in one of the battles) and it was an extremely sweltering day; the only shade one could have been the shade made by one's own garment. Some of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were fasting on that day. Those who fasted did not do any work or acts of service, because of fasting, enduring the nuisance of travel, and preparing for Jihaad, and those who did not fast served the camels, brought water to them, served (the fasting ones), and treated the sick (and wounded). They carried out all the exhausting tasks of bringing water, preparing food, and fetching fodder. So, the Prophet ﷺ said, "Today, those who were not fasting took (all) the reward,” meaning that they earned the most perfect and greatest share of reward because the benefit of fasting is limited to the fasting person only, while the benefit of those who did not fast extended to others as well. However, this does not suggest that their rewards were diminished in the slightest, but rather means that those who did not fast earned greater rewards for performing services for others, as well as their own personal responsibilities. The hadeeth highlights the austere living conditions and (financial) hardship endured by the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them)..