Spending, whether in Ramadan or at any other time, is one of the important issues which should be well understood by the believers. This understanding is based on one thing, that is, this religion is not for the misers. Niggardly souls that are not righteous themselves are not fit to establish religion in others. The souls which withhold property, effort and time from Allah The Almighty indeed withhold the benefit from themselves. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And whoever withholds only withholds [benefit] from himself; and Allah is The Free of need, while you are the needy. And if you turn away, He will replace you with another people; then they will not be the likes of you.} [Quran 47:38]
This is an important point that must be well understood by the believers. That is, to spend just as described by Allah The Almighty when He Says (what means): {Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise.} [Quran 9:111]. The believers are commanded to spend out of the means in which they were made successors, i.e. of the property He gave them, rather than of their own property. They are indeed in need and destitution, as described by Allah The Almighty who Says (what means): {O mankind, you are those in need of Allah, while Allah is The One Who is Free of need, The Praiseworthy.} [Quran 35:15]
This is one of the most frequently repeated topics of the Quran, as Allah The Almighty commands the people to sacrifice their souls and property for His sake. Whoever spends money for the sake of Allah The Almighty, certainly the generosity of Allah The Almighty is better and more superior and He would give him more than what he spends, and will recompense him with something better than what he gave, for each good deed as much as seven hundred times and more. On the other hand, if he spends time in the cause of Allah The Almighty, he would be blessed in his time. Similarly, if he utilizes his position, authority and efforts in order to increase the means of sustenance and benefit the slaves of Allah, and if he offers his soul for the sake of Allah The Almighty, just as the early believers used to do, they would be preserved for him and he would be honored by Allah The Almighty in the world and the Hereafter.
Those who withhold and are misers do so while assuming that spending in the cause of Allah The Almighty would decrease their property, time and effort, forget the narration that says: "In no way would a slave’s property decrease because of charity (he gives out of it)." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Property never decreases by giving charity – but people always see things from a materialistic perspective. It is true that property seems to decrease (in the physical amount). Nevertheless, the Messenger of Allah tells us that it increases rather than decreases, because Allah The Almighty Says in a Qudsi Hadeeth (sacred narration): "Spend and I would spend on you." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] He spends on you as long as you spend (in His cause), and of course, His spending is more than yours. His dominion, sustenance and His treasures are never used up. If all the creatures, humankind and the Jinn, the early and future generations, gather in a valley, and each of them asks for something, or even for the entire world, all of this will reduce nothing from His dominion. That is the significance of His statement: "Spend and I would spend on you." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] He further Says (what means): {And whoever withholds only withholds [benefit] from himself.} [Quran 47:38]
Spending in the cause of Allah The Almighty depends on two things:
1- Reliance on Allah The Almighty;
2- To have good expectations of Allah The Almighty.
Reliance on Allah The Almighty and having good expectations of Him are what leads true believers to spend in the cause of Allah The Almighty. However, one only becomes miserly when he has poor expectations of his Lord, is less reliant on Him and less certain that Allah The Almighty will compensate him, recompense him with what is better and enlarge his sustenance as He has promised him.