Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in the chapter on the abundance of ways to do good this strange story narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): eating the dry earth means: the wet, moist clay; he eats it from thirst in order to suck out the water in it due to the intensity of his thirst or the shoe is what is worn on the foot, made of leather or the like This is a confirmation of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): A small deed; Allah was pleased with the doer of this deed and forgave his sins and admitted him to Paradise. When the Companions were told this hadith, and they (may Allah be pleased with them) were the most eager people for knowledge, not just to know, but to know so that they might teach, they asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), saying: Because this is a dog, which is an animal, so how can this man who gave it a drink have such a great reward? Do we have a reward for animals? He said: The moist liver needs water, because without water it would dry up and the animal would die. So we take from this a principle, which is: that when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) relates to us a story from the Children of Israel, it is so that we may take a lesson from it and draw a moral from it. This is as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: And in another narration, which is perhaps another story, a prostitute means: that she practiced fornication, and may Allah protect us, from among the prostitutes meaning: it was circling it, thirsty, but it could not reach the water because it was a well meaning: from this well And this is the second story, so this indicates that there is a reward for animals. For every animal you treat well by giving it water or food, or protecting it from heat or cold, whether it belongs to you or to another human being, or it is a stray, you have a reward for that with Allah (Mighty and Majestic). This is for animals, so what about human beings? If you treat human beings well, the reward becomes even greater and more abundant. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ... from your kindness, meaning: if your small child stood by the cooler saying, 'Father, water,' and you gave him a drink while he was thirsty, then you have given a Muslim a drink when he was thirsty. So Allah will give you a drink from the sealed nectar. A great reward, and praise be to Allah. Spoils, but where is the one who receives these spoils? Where is the one who makes his intention sincere and seeks the reward from Allah (Mighty and Majestic)? So I advise you, my brother, and myself, to always strive to seize deeds with a good intention so that they may be a store for you with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) on the Day of Resurrection. How many deeds became great because of the intention, and how many deeds were great in appearance but became small because of heedlessness. And success is from Allah.