Hadith: A poor woman came to me carrying her two daughters. So I gave her three dates to eat, and she gave one to each of her daughters. She then lifted a date to her mouth to eat it, but her daughters asked for it, so she split the date between the two of them. Her action amazed me. I mentioned what she did to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and he said: @"Indeed, Allah has made Paradise obligatory for her because of it, or He has freed her from Hellfire because of it."

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ أُمِّ المؤْمِنين رَضيَ اللهُ عنها قَالَتْ:
جَاءَتْنِي مِسْكِينَةٌ تَحْمِلُ ابْنَتَيْنِ لَهَا، فَأَطْعَمْتُهَا ثَلَاثَ تَمَرَاتٍ، فَأَعْطَتْ كُلَّ وَاحِدَةٍ مِنْهُمَا تَمْرَةً، وَرَفَعَتْ إِلَى فِيهَا تَمْرَةً لِتَأْكُلَهَا، فَاسْتَطْعَمَتْهَا ابْنَتَاهَا، فَشَقَّتِ التَّمْرَةَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ تُرِيدُ أَنْ تَأْكُلَهَا بَيْنَهُمَا، فَأَعْجَبَنِي شَأْنُهَا، فَذَكَرْتُ الَّذِي صَنَعَتْ لِرَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَقَالَ: «إِنَّ اللهَ قَدْ أَوْجَبَ لَهَا بِهَا الْجَنَّةَ، أَوْ أَعْتَقَهَا بِهَا مِنَ النَّارِ».
[صحيح] - [رواه مسلم] - [صحيح مسلم: 2630]

‘Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her), reported:
A poor woman came to me carrying her two daughters. So I gave her three dates to eat, and she gave one to each of her daughters. She then lifted a date to her mouth to eat it, but her daughters asked for it, so she split the date between the two of them. Her action amazed me. I mentioned what she did to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and he said: "Indeed, Allah has made Paradise obligatory for her because of it, or He has freed her from Hellfire because of it."
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Muslim] - [Sahih Muslim - 2630]

Explanation

The Mother of the Believers, ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that a poor woman carrying her two daughters came begging her. She gave her three dates. The woman gave each daughter one date and raised the third to her mouth to eat it. But her daughters asked for that date too, so she split it between them. ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was deeply moved by her conduct and mentioned the woman's action to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). He said: "Indeed, Allah has made Paradise obligatory for her because of it, or He has freed her from Hellfire because of it."

Benefits from the Hadith

1. The merit of charity, even if small, for it demonstrates the believer’s sincerity in his belief in his Lord, and his trust in Allah's promise and bounty.
2. The profound mercy of mothers toward their children and their intense fear for their well-being.
3. The merit of selflessness, compassion toward children, and exceptional kindness and gentleness toward daughters, for these are causes of entering Paradise and salvation from Hellfire.
4. One should not refrain from giving charity due to the smallness of the amount. Rather, the giver should donate whatever is easy for them, whether a little or much.
5. This Hadīth reveals the condition of the Prophet's household and how he and his family lived when there was nothing in their home to eat except one date or three dates.