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 Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) stated, in what he quoted in the chapter on the abundance of paths to good, from Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Every act of kindness. "Ma'ruf" (kindness) is what people mutually recognize as good, or what the Shari'ah has recognized as good. If it is something by which one worships Allah, then it is what the Shari'ah has recognized as good. If it is something by which people deal with one another, then it is what people mutually recognize as good. This hadith encompasses both. So every act by which you worship Allah is charity, as stated in the previous hadith: As for what people mutually recognize as good, that is also related to dealings between people. So whatever people mutually recognize as good is kindness, such as being kind to creation with wealth, or with status, or with other types of kindness. Among this is meeting your brother with a pleasant face, not a frowning one, and softening your speech to him, and bringing him joy. For this reason, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said: It is among the good deeds, when a person visits a sick person, to bring him joy and say, "You are in good health." And if the matter is contrary to what he said, meaning the patient is sicker than before, let him say, "You are in good health," intending that he is in better health than those who are worse off than him, because bringing joy to the sick person is a cause of healing. For this reason, you find that if a person is suffering from a minor, ordinary illness, and someone says to him, "By Allah, praise be to Allah, this is a minor thing and this is something that does not harm," he is reassured by that and forgets the illness. Forgetting the illness is a cause of his healing, and for a person to attach his heart to the illness is a cause of its persistence. I give an example of this: a man, for instance, who has a wound. You find that if he is preoccupied with other needs, he does not feel the pain of the wound. But if he is free and then focuses his mind on the wound, he feels the pain. Look, for example, at the porters who carry things onto and off trucks. Sometimes something falls on his foot and injures it. As long as he is carrying and preoccupied, he does not feel it and is not aware of it. But when he is done, he feels it and is in pain. So, the patient's unawareness of the illness, bringing him joy, and his hope that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will heal him, this is good that makes him forget the illness, and it may be a cause of healing. So, every act of kindness is charity. If you see someone next to you who is distressed, and you see sweat pouring from him, and you fan him, then that is charity for him. It is charity because it is kindness. If you meet guests with openness and hasten to serve them, and the like of that, then that is charity.