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.
Metaphorical Interpretation
The iron cloaks represent the natural disposition of the human soul toward either generosity or stinginess. Just as iron is heavy and restrictive, so too are these traits burdensome to the soul until transformed through action.
For the generous person, charity becomes a means of spiritual expansion, where the restrictive nature of worldly attachment is lifted, allowing the soul to experience divine ease and protection.
Spiritual Consequences
The almsgiver's expanding cloak symbolizes how Allah replaces worldly restrictions with spiritual expansiveness. The hiding of fingertips and footprints indicates the erasure of sins and protection from spiritual harm.
The miser's constricting cloak demonstrates how withholding obligatory charity constricts one's spiritual state, livelihood, and inner peace - the very wealth they seek to preserve becomes a source of constriction.
Legal Implications
This hadith emphasizes the obligatory nature of Zakat and its transformative power. The "iron" quality signifies the compulsory aspect - just as iron cannot be easily removed, neither can the obligation of charity be dismissed.
Scholars derive from this that regular charity softens the heart, expands provision, and protects from calamities, while miserliness hardens the heart and constricts blessings.
Practical Application
The imagery teaches that initial difficulty in giving charity resembles the weight of iron, but persistence transforms this burden into spiritual protection covering one's entire existence.
Muslims should understand that charity is not merely financial transaction but spiritual transformation where the giver receives far more than they give in both worldly and spiritual terms.