They said: 'We were not so impressed by what you said that we would ask you about it.' He said: 'I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: "Whoever spends an expenditure that is superior in the path of Allah, then it is [rewarded by] seven hundred fold; and whoever spends on himself and his family, or visits the sick, or removes an obstacle, then the good deed is ten times its like; and fasting is a shield as long as one does not tear it; and whoever is tested by Allah the Almighty with an affliction in his body, it is a penance for him."'

Narrated by Ahmad (1/195, 196), Ibn Abi Shaybah (5/318, 339), Ibn Hibban (31), Al-Baghawi (1/171), Al-Bayhaqi (3/374, 9/171), and Al-Majma' (2/300), and he attributed it to Ahmad, Abu Ya'la, and Al-Bazzar. It contains Yasar ibn Abi Sayf, and I have not seen anyone who authenticated or impugned him, while the rest of its narrators are reliable. Also narrated in Al-Mishkat (7/21), Al-Hakim (3/265), and Al-Bukhari in "Al-Tarikh al-Kabir" (7/21).

515: 2728: He wills: 1: Imam Ahmad said: Amr ibn Mujammi' Abu al-Mundhir al-Kindi narrated to us, Ibrahim al-Hajari informed us from Abu al-Ahwas, from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah has made the good deed of the son of Adam equivalent to ten times its like up to seven hundred fold, except for fasting, for it is for Me, and I shall reward it. The fasting person has two joys: a joy at the time of breaking his fast, and a joy on the Day of Resurrection. And the odor of the fasting person's mouth is more pleasant to Allah than the scent of musk."

Authentic (Sahih). Al-Jawami' (4762), Al-Kanz (23624), Ithafat (130), Al-Khatib (7/213), Ahmad (1/446), and Al-Majma'.