﴿ ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَٰلَهُمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ثُمَّ لَا يُتْبِعُونَ مَآ أَنفَقُوا۟ مَنًّۭا وَلَآ أَذًۭى ۙ لَّهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ﴾

“They who spend their possessions for the sake of God and do not thereafter mar their spending by stressing their own benevolence and hurting [the feelings of the needy] shall have their reward with 'their Sustainer, and no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.”

One who spends his wealth in order to gain worldly fame and prestige, and who seeks to be recompensed in this ephemeral world, will have no share in the rewards of the life everlasting. Those who spend for the cause of God, on the other hand, adopt a different approach. They do not, for one, taunt their beneficiaries with reminders of the favours they have bestowed. Indeed, having spent from their wealth for the cause of God, they do not consider themselves to have bestowed any favour at all upon anyone. And they do not show any displeasure if a gracious response is not forthcoming from those to whom they have been generous. This is because their hopes are pinned on being rewarded in full by God, so what do they care if human beings show appreciation or not? Moreover, if they are unable to accede to a request for monetary assistance, at least they do not rebuff the suppliant. Instead, they find kind words with which to excuse themselves, for they know that God hears everything they say. Their fear of God makes them circumspect in the choice of words they utter to their fellow human beings.