قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم‏:‏ ‏ “‏ يا نساء المسلمات لا تحقرن جارة لجارتها ولو فرسن شاة‏

Abu Hurairah RA reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

O Muslim women, never belittle any gift you give your neighbour even if it is a hoof of a sheep”. [Bukhari and Muslim]

A person should not refrain from sending a gift to a neighbour considering it to be insignificant or little because a gift may be insignificant to the person receiving it but its reward with Allah is immense.

In addition, charity and gifts should be given according to one’s financial status; hence, the poor are also encouraged to give something that is affordable to them. It is better to give something small rather than nothing at all. Allah says,

فَمَنْ يَّعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرا يَّرَهٗ

One who does an atoms-weight of good, will see its reward. [Zilzaal 99: 7]

The Hadith may also mean that a person who has received a gift should not regard it as insignificant.

Sheep’s trotters are rarely sent as a gift because they are of little value; hence, the Hadith uses them as an example to emphasize the importance of giving in charity and sharing gifts.

EASY GOOD DEED – Recommendation

To give justified recommendation for someone is an act of great merit. The Holy Qur’an says:

مَّن يَشْفَعْ شَفَـٰعَةً حَسَنَةً يَكُن لَّهُۥ نَصِيبٌ مِّنْهَا

Whoever recommends and helps a good cause becomes a partner therein … [Nisaa 4: 85]

And the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said:-

عن أبي موسى الأشعري رضي الله عنه قال‏:‏ كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا أتاه طالب حاجة أقبل على جلسائه فقال‏:‏ ‏:‏اشفعوا تؤجروا ويقضي الله على لسان نبيه ما أحب

Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari RA reported: Whenever a needy person would come to the Prophet (ﷺ), he would turn to those who were present and say, “If you make intercession for him, you will be rewarded, because Allah decreed what He likes by the tongue of His Messenger”. [Bukhari and Muslim]

A good recommendation, whether affective or ineffective, is in itself a good deed. If it is effective, then it might earn double merit.

But it should be noted that the recommendation should be for some correct purpose and not for any unlawful purpose because recommendation for something unlawful is a grave sin with graver consequences.

Hence it is necessary to be absolutely sure that the person recommended is truly deserving of it, and whatever he is being recommended for is justified and lawful.

Another point to be noted is that the recommendation should not unduly burden the person to whom the recommendation is being made, first of all it must be assessed if the person is really able to do what is recommended; if not, then recommendation should not be made as it might embarrass him. If one cannot know whether the person to which recommendation is made is able to act on it or not, then recommendation should not be pressing and one should ask for the work to be done if it can be done.

Sometimes even when a person is able to do something, he still has to follow some rules or preferences of his own. In such a case too, one should not make specific recommendations but leave it to the person to do it according to his rules and preferences, so that he may not be unduly burdened.