Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Ilyaas (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) once mentioned the following:
The great virtues for charity, gifting and assisting people through loans should be explained to people by narrating the incidents of the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) to them.
When we view the lives of the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum), we find that they would earn money and thereafter spend in charity. Hence, it was not only the wealthy Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) who would spend in charity. Rather, even the poor Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) earned money and spent whatever they could manage in charity as they understood the great virtues of charity.
When there are great virtues promised for giving charity, then we should understand that the virtue and reward for giving a gift is even greater. Likewise, there are many virtues that can be acquired through assisting a person with a loan. For example, if the debtor is unable to settle the debt when the due date arrives, then through the creditor giving him respite, he will receive the reward of sadaqah for each day that passes. (Malfoozaat Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Ilyaas (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) pg. 50)
Source: Ihyaauddeen.co.za