[4:114] There is no good in much of their secret conversations, except for he who enjoins to voluntary almsgiving, or kindness, or setting things right between people. And whoever does that, desiring God's good pleasure, We shall surely give him a great wage.
The best of actions is the one whose blessing extends beyond the actor to others and the excellence of almsgiving is that its benefit extends beyond the one who receives your gift. Chivalry (futūwwa) is to exert yourself for others. In the tradition [the Prophet said]: The worst of mankind are those who eat by themselves. The term 'almsgiving' (ṣadaqa) can be applied to every kind of good action (iḥsān). He (ṣ) said regarding the shortening of prayers in travel: This is an almsgiving which God has given you, so accept His almsgiving.
Almsgiving is of several types: your almsgiving to your soul and your almsgiving to others. Your almsgiving to your soul is your prompting it to perform the rights of God Most High, to restrain it from opposing His command, to hold back its hand from harming created beings, and to defend its thoughts and beliefs from evil. Your almsgiving to others is the almsgiving of wealth, the heart and the body. The almsgiving of wealth is the expenditure of riches, the almsgiving of the body is through performing service, and the almsgiving of the heart is through good intention and positive aspiration. Almsgiving to the poor is an external act about which there are no doubts. Almsgiving to the rich would be your giving liberally to them through them (ʿalayhim bihim ?), and that you cut off your hope from them and do not desire them.
As for kindness, everything good in the law is kindness and from that is aid (injād) to Muslims. Their support (isʿād) in what they have in it is nearness to God and intimacy with Him, and rising up together to obey. Whoever gives alms through his lower self in obeying His Lord, and gives alms through his heart to the good pleasure of His decree, He will not take revenge for his self and will encourage people according to what is in it (them?) to their salvation in guidance to His Lord. He will set things right between people by his almsgiving in his state, for surely the tongue of his action is more eloquent in admonition than the tongue of his speech, and he is the sincere one of his time. One who does not refine the behaviors of his self cannot refine the behaviors of others. Likewise, one who does not polish his own state can not polish that of others.
And whoever does that, desiring God's good pleasure, not asking for wealth by it, or looking to achieve a state by it, will soon attain the rank of security in the path of God. This is the promised wage for him in this verse.