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Sunday 23 October 2022

Hadith Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: Abstain from Beggary

If a man has no self-respect, the easiest way of earning money without doing anything is Beggary. We find beggars wearing many faces and asking for alms and charity. A vast majority of these are without any physical deformity or visible ailment. And even if you give them a handsome charity, hoping that this would ease their plight, you will find them in the same place again the next day and the next day still begging.

I once observed a young boy sitting by the roadside counting the money he had collected from begging. I just stood nearby counting with him and was surprised to see that he had collected money almost equivalent to the daily wage of a labourer. I once offered a female beggar to come and wash dishes at my home and do other chores of the house and promised a handsome salary. She just smiled and told me that what I was offering her was mere peanuts as she could earn three times more by begging. 

The purpose of Zakat (the obligatory charity) and charity (voluntary) is to help the poor not the beggars. The society must keep a watch on their surrounding and neighbourhood and help families, specially widows or the poor women who do not have a bread earner at home or people disabled due to some disease and are unable to work.  Such are the people who deserve our charity, and not the beggars who are professionals and by making such a miserable appearance or heart-moving stories that one is forced to give them alms.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ has warned against beggary as is quoted in the Sahih al-Bukhari (Obligatory Charity Tax (Zakat) - كتاب الزكاة ) / Hadith 1429:

Narrated Ibn `Umar:
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو النُّعْمَانِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ أَيُّوبَ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ح‏.‏ وَحَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ وَهُوَ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ، وَذَكَرَ الصَّدَقَةَ وَالتَّعَفُّفَ وَالْمَسْأَلَةَ ‏ "‏ الْيَدُ الْعُلْيَا خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْيَدِ السُّفْلَى، فَالْيَدُ الْعُلْيَا هِيَ الْمُنْفِقَةُ، وَالسُّفْلَى هِيَ السَّائِلَةُ ‏"‏‏.‏
I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) while he was on the pulpit speaking about charity, to abstain from asking others for some financial help and about begging others, saying, "The upper hand is better than the lower hand. The upper hand is that of the giver and the lower (hand) is that of the beggar."

The above Hadith supports the wisdom that when you help someone from your right hand, your left hand should not know. So, from now on, save some money and give it out to someone you know whose financial health is poor and help him by your charity, both obligatory and voluntary, for these are the behind the screen people who do not beg because of their pride and honour, and yet need our help.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.  
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible to make you accept it forcibly, And if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, You will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

Please refer to our reference page: Sunnah and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to know more about sunnah of Prophet of Allah. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references as given below. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.

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