The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Hands are of three kinds. The hand of Allah is the highest, the hand of the giver comes next, and the hand of the beggar is the lowest. So give what is surplus, and do not neglect yourself."
قال رسول الله ﷺ: الأيدي ثلاثة: فيد الله العليا، ويد المعطي التي تليها، ويد السائل السفلى، فأعط الفضل ولا تعجز عن نفسك.
Abu Dawud (1649) narrated it from Ahmad bin Hanbal, and it is in his Musnad (15890), from Ubayda bin Humayd Taymi, who said, my teacher Abu Zara narrated to me, from Abu Ahwas, from his father Malik bin Nadla, who said, and he mentioned it. Abu Ahwas is Awf bin Malik bin Nadla. Its chain of transmission is sahih, and Ibn Khuzayma (2440) graded it sahih, as did Ibn Hibban (3362) and Hakim (1/408), all of them through the route of Ubayda bin Humayd, with the same wording.Abu Zara, with a fatha on the zay and a saakin unpointed letter, is Amr bin Amr, or Ibn Amir, or Ibn Malik bin Nadla Jashami, with a damma on the jeem and a fatha on the pointed letter. He is among the narrators of the Sunan and is trustworthy. Ibn Main, Ahmad, and others affirmed his reliability.Ibn Hibban said, "The upper hand is better than the lower hand means that the hand of the giver is better than the hand of the taker, even if he does not ask."A similar meaning has been narrated from Ibn Masud, who said, the Messenger of Allah said, "Hands are of three kinds. There is the hand of Allah, the uppermost, then the hand of the giver next to it, then the hand of the asker, the lowest." This was narrated by Ahmad (4261), Abu Yaala (5125), Ibn Khuzayma (2435), and Hakim (1/307), all of them through the route of Ibrahim bin Muslim Hijri, from Abu Ahwas, from Ibn Masud, who mentioned it, and Hakim passed over it in silence.Ibrahim bin Muslim Hijri is daif, and there has also been disagreement about whether the hadith is to be attributed to the Prophet or stopped at the companion.