Sunan an-Nasa'i
Sunan an-Nasa'i 2573
أَخْبَرَنَا نَصْرُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الأَعْلَى، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " لَيْسَ الْمِسْكِينُ الَّذِي تَرُدُّهُ الأُكْلَةُ وَالأُكْلَتَانِ وَالتَّمْرَةُ وَالتَّمْرَتَانِ " . قَالُوا فَمَا الْمِسْكِينُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ " الَّذِي لاَ يَجِدُ غِنًى وَلاَ يَعْلَمُ النَّاسُ حَاجَتَهُ فَيُتَصَدَّقَ عَلَيْهِ " .
Nasr ibn Ali reported: Abd al-Ala narrated to us: Mamar narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: The needy person is not the one whom one or two meals, or one or two dates, turn away. They said: Then who is the needy person, O Messenger of Allah? He said: The one who does not have enough to make him self-sufficient, and whose need people do not know, so that charity may be given to him.
Translation notes
The source version defines need by insufficient means and the fact that others are unaware of the person need.