In short: A man walking along a path found a thorny branch in the way and moved it aside. Allah appreciated what he did and forgave him (Sahih Muslim 1914). The Prophet ﷺ also counted removing a stone, thorn or bone from the road as charity (Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi 1956, graded hasan).
The story
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: while a man was walking along a path, he found a thorny branch lying across it and pulled it out of the way. Allah thanked him for it and forgave him (Muslim 1914).
Small deeds count
In another hadith the Prophet ﷺ listed simple acts of charity, including smiling at your brother and removing a stone, thorn or bone from the road (Tirmidhi 1956). See charity without money. And remember the story of the man who gave water to a thirsty dog.
What we can take from it
- Never think a good deed is too small.
- Care for public spaces. Clearing harm from where people walk is worship.
- The deed that saves you might be one you forget.