Beggars Real or Not

[yasirslm]

Dear Brothers/Sisters,

AOA,

I have seen people shaping them as beggars and standing on traffic signals asking for money. How to deal with such persons, should we give money to them or tell them to do some work to earn money. I have also seen such beggars making this as profession as they regularly use to stand on traffic signal asking for money(Police support is with them as they give monthly amount to them). I can't identify who actually is a needy one. Last night I had a big debate with my Mom in this and as per her I should give money to them in the name ALLAH but my point of view was I should not since I am aware they are not the real one, They are fake (Beggars)


Peace!!!!

 

[Snowflake]

If your referring to the romanian beggers dressed as muslims, carrying small babies, then beware. Begging is a business for them.



P.S. I can under stand the objection for AOA if it was vocal but it's only an abbreivation and the reader knows your saying 'Assalam 'Alaykum' not 'Alcoholics Anonymous'. I write A'A/Salam in sms all the time. But if I have to give a better salam which includes the name of Allah then I'll write 'as wa rahmatullah wb'. My two pennies.

 

[~ Sabr ~]

If you have answer please solve it.

Gladly...!!



Is it permissible for Muslims to give money to beggars?

Answered by the Fatwa Department Research Committee - chaired by Sheikh `Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî

It is indeed lawful to give money to people who ask. It is an act of charity to do so.

Allah says the following:

“And in their wealth the beggar and the one who is denied his due share.”
[Sûrah al-Dhâriyât: 19]

“And those in whose wealth is a recognized right for the beggar and the one who is denied his due share.”
[Sûrah al-Ma`ârif: 24-25]

“It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces Towards east or West; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah-fearing.”
[Sûrah al-Baqarah: 177]


Source: http://www.islamonline.com/news/articles/172/Giving-charity-to-beggars.html

 

[~ Sabr ~]

And this.................

Beggars: to which should we can and which should we refrain from giving to?​

There are a lot of beggars, especially children, and some of them resort to tricks so that they will be given money. For example, one of them may say that he is blind and cannot see, even though his eyes are in good health, and so on. How should I deal with them? Should I give them money or not? Please note that I do not know whether they are telling the truth or not, and I cannot be certain whether they really need the money or they are using tricks to collect money. If I help them when they are tricksters – but I do not know that – will I be sinning?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

It is not permissible for anyone to ask people for money when he is not in need or he is able to earn a living. There are certain categories for whom it is permissible to ask of people. They are: the poor person who is destitute, the man who owes a debt, and the one who has been stricken by financial calamity and lost all his wealth. In these cases it is not permissible to ask for more than one needs, on condition that he does not have enough to meet his needs and is not able to earn enough for his livelihood.

The scholars of the Standing Committee said:

It is permissible to ask for people for money, for the one who is in need and does not have enough to suffice him and he is not able to earn a living. He may ask people for as much as will meet his needs only. As for the one who is not in need, or the one who is in need but is able to earn a living, it is not permissible for him to ask and whatever he takes from people in this case is haraam for him, because of the hadeeth of Qabeesah ibn Mukhaariq al-Hilaali (may Allah be pleased with him) who said

It was narrated that Qabeesah ibn Mukhaariq al-Hilaali said: I incurred a debt (in order to reconcile between two parties) and I came to the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to ask him (for help) with it. He said: “Stay with us until the zakaah comes, and we will order that something be given to you.” Then he said: “O Qabeesah, asking for help is not permissible except in one of three cases: a man who has incurred a debt (in order to reconcile between two parties), for whom it is permissible to ask for help until he has paid it off, then he should refrain; a man who has been stricken by a calamity that has destroyed all his wealth, for whom it is permissible to ask for help until he gets enough to get by – or he gets enough to meet his basic needs; and a man who is stricken by poverty and three men of wisdom among his people acknowledge that So and so has been stricken by poverty, then it becomes permissible for him to ask for help until he gets enough to get by – or to meet his basic needs. Apart from these cases asking for help, O Qabeesah, is haraam and the one who begs is consuming something haraam.”
Narrated by Ahmad, Muslim, an-Nasaa’i and Abu Dawood.

And (it is haraam) because of the hadeeth, “Whoever asks of people to accumulate wealth is asking for a live coal” and the hadeeth “Charity is not permissible for a rich person, or for one who is strong and healthy.”
Narrated by the five apart from an-Nasaa’i

So what you should do is advise him, and the scholars should explain this to the people in their Friday khutbahs and otherwise, and in the media.

Repulsing or chiding the beggar is also not allowed because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “and do not chide the one who asks for help” [ad-Duha 93:10]. What is referred to here is rebuking him and raising one’s voice against him; this includes both the one who asks for money and the one who asks about shar‘i rulings. But this does not rule out offering guidance to the beggar who is asking wrongfully, and advising him with wisdom and beautiful preaching.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Ghadyaan, Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan, Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez Aal ash-Shaykh, Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd

Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, 24/377

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:

What is the Islamic ruling on begging?

He quoted the hadeeth of Qabeesah that we quoted above, then he said,

In this hadeeth the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) described the permissible kinds of asking; anything other that is haraam. If a person has enough to meet his needs whether it is from the salary of a job, or from trade, or income from some property set aside as a waqf for his benefit by a relative, or real estate, or earnings from a craft such as carpentry or blacksmithing, or from farming and the like, it is haraam for him to beg. But if a person is compelled to do that, there is nothing wrong with him asking for as much as he needs. The same applies to one who incurs a debt in order to reconcile between people, or to spend on his family and children. There is nothing wrong with him asking for help to pay off this debt.

Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 14/320

Secondly:

As for what we often see in the streets or in the mosques of beggars who ask people for money, they are not all truly needy people. In fact it has been proven that some of them are independent of means, and it has been proven that there are gangs to exploit those children and make them ask people for money. This does not mean that there are no cases that are truly deserving. Hence we think that the one who wants to give money to one of these people should try to use his own intuition to work out whether he is genuine or not. Whatever the case, the best option is to refer these people to the zakaah and charity committees so that they can do their job of finding out about their circumstances and follow up on them even after giving to them.

• If you realise that someone is not in need or you think it most likely that this is the case, then do not give him anything.
• If you realise that he is in need or you think it most likely that this is the case, then give him something if you want to.
• If you see someone and it is not clear to you what his situation really is, then you may give him or you may not.

If a person gives something to someone to whom it is permissible to give, thinking that he is in need, he will have the reward for that act of charity even if it turns out later that he was not in need, and even if the money he gave him was the zakaah of his wealth. It will be accepted from him and he does not have to give it again.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “A man said: I shall certainly give charity. He went out with his charity and placed it in the hand of a thief. The next morning, they said: He gave charity to a thief. He said: O Allah, praise be to You; I shall certainly give charity (again). He went out with his charity and placed it in the hands of a prostitute. The next morning they said: Last night he gave charity to a prostitute. He said: O Allaah, praise be to You for a prostitute. I shall certainly give charity (again).’ He went out with his charity and placed it in the hand of a rich man. The next morning, they said, Last night he gave charity to a rich man. He said: O Allaah, to You be praise for a thief, a prostitute and a rich man. It was said to him: As for what you gave in charity to a thief, perhaps it will be the cause of his refraining from stealing; as for the prostitute, perhaps it will be the cause of her refraining from fornication; and as for the rich man, perhaps he will learn a lesson and spend from that which Allaah has given him."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1355; Muslim, 1022

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

If a person thinks it most likely that the one to whom he gave charity was entitled to zakaah, that is acceptable, whether he was begging or he looked poor. It is acceptable even if it turns out later on that he was independent of means; it is still acceptable. Hence when the man gave charity to the rich man and the next morning the people were saying “Last night he gave charity to a rich man,” it was said to the one who had given charity and regretted giving it to the rich man, “as for what you gave in charity to the rich man, it has been accepted.” Allah, may He be glorified and exalted does not burden any soul with more than it can bear and He does not oblige you to try to find out about a person so that you can be absolutely certain. This is something that is not possible, or is too difficult. If you think it most likely that this is a person who is entitled to zakaah, then give to him, and if it turns out that he is not one of those who are entitled to it, your zakaah is still acceptable, praise be to Allah.

al-Liqa’ ash-Shahri, 71/question no. 9

See also the answer to questions no. 5154 and 46241.




Source: http://islamqa.info/en/ref/104781/beggar

 

[Imaduddin]

Salam is the greeting of Islam, the Angels used it to greet our father Adam and Muslims use it to greet other Muslims. All views which I have read on this say that We must write it correctly. The same applies when saying Salallahu alayhi wa salam.


I don't mean to be rude, but please respect the command of Allah to great one another with salam. How hard could it be to write Assalamu Alaykum?


I got reminded about my Umrah, after we left Saudi, we went to Jordan to visit the 3 Martyrs who died in the Battle of Mu'tah. Another group joined us during the visit and there was a young man, over 25 or something. He approached the grave of Abdullah bin Rawaha radiallahu anhu, and not knowing anything, he goes "So who's this guy". Wallahi, my vains nearly popped out of anger when I heard him. How disrespectful it was of him to say that to a Sahabi of the Rasul of Allah. They held Islam on their shoulders and their backs, and an ignorant man from the 21'st century dares to say such words about it. He knew that he was a Sahabi and a Martyr, if you don't know as reepectfully. I still can't get my head around it. My blood boils every time I think about it


Brother, Muslims died so that you could have the freedom to use that Islamic greeting, don't render it worthless, it has a high value. Please be respectful and either say it as it's meant to be said or don't say it at all.


Please forgive me if I've come off as rude, it's just not right.


As for your question, there are people for whom this is a business. You do not know what their state is, you can't judge them based on their clothes, someone might be wearing expensive clothes, but it just so happens that they have become broke. You can't judge them like that.


Give to them or better yet, offer to buy them food.


Offering a nice word and a smile is better for you than to be harsh to a beggar.


I have some more to say, but I will later insha Allah.

 

[yasirslm]

Beggars: to which should we can and which should we refrain from giving to?

Thanks, but you have answered one question...Giving money to those who deserve it which is right thing, what about those who are not beggars in real and it's their profession/business to ask for money though they are fully Healthy/Fit persons and can earn money by doing some business like fruits selling etc.
I can give you example like in my college life I use to go college by bus, one day on my way back to home from college bus stopped on a bus stop and a young boy climbed on the bus ,he was a bit limping and started saying there is something wrong with his ankle and wants to go to doctor but don't have any money, people started giving him money, after sometime the driver started the bus but the young boy didn't realized that bus is moving ,as he realized he stared running toward the bus door and jumped out. I was amazed to see that the boy who was limping in the bus has now started running as he wants to get out of the bus...I saw the young boy from the bus window as he was fully fit and just trying to deceive people.
What to do in such situation

 

[ardianto]

Assalamu' alaikum

Many beggars in Indonesia are fake.

 

[yasirslm]

As for your question, there are people for whom this is a business. You do not know what their state is, you can't judge them based on their clothes, someone might be wearing expensive clothes, but it just so happens that they have become broke. You can't judge them like that.

Well I have seen this not through my judgment..My uncle lives in USA and has given upper portion of his house to some person who was living in our village, my uncle visits his home two/three times in a year. He is giving handsome salary to the person living on the upper potion.

One day I saw on traffic signal that Peron, his wife and children's disguised as beggars and asking for money...since I have already met with that person he realized me and was so shameful and went from that place.

That night I went to my uncle's home and asked that person why you are doing this. The answer from that person was a big surprise for me, he said that he saves his salary and all family members go out asking for money so that they have a party in night from the money collected from peoples.

 

[sofiap]

salaam, i understand what you mean yassir..i too have often thought and reflected upon this...we know that we should give the needy.your issue  is not that you wish not to give the needy[beggars dont necessarily are those who are needy,this has to be understood] and yes those who r begging out of falsehood,shouldn't ..but if they understood the wrong or feared it,they wouldn't be doing it...reality is that there are many who 'scam' people and use it for maybe wrong purpose...ie to buy for bad habbits..Allaah knows best...at times wen people have come o my door to collect for charity,mosques etc...Alhumdulilah...this is thier due,and there has been maybe several occasion,i have asked and tld these people who are not needy,but have a habbit of begging..[as she came several times before]reminding them that Allaah doesn't wish for us to beg,if we have no need,but as she has asked i will give to her this time...Alhumduilah this young girl was surprised and saw in her eyes,she knew that a sincere advice was being given and saw her regret in her eyes..but Allaah knows,she was made to do this...it is the duty upon us to share the truth of the clear ayats of  Allaah, if they find this reality true they can avoid the wrong and do the right...in sha Allaah...my mum always taught us to give and not let anyone go empty handed...but we also have to teach the few who are beggars and not needy,as we are by Allaah grace reminding them of right and wrong...then give them something so they may learn in sha Allaah..as this is better for oneself too with the intention of giving back to community what belongs to Allaah..

 

[sofiap]

i realise there are some letters in there which i don't undertsand got there..lool..and it will make this read annoying to say the least, your more then welcome to feel:exhausted..lool

 

[yasirslm]

Sometime the fake baggers do such acts that can make you feel shameful ,like on traffic signals they started hitting your car door so hard in order to get your attention.

 

[sofiap]

people who r needy find it very difficult to ask from another let alone knocking on windows to force that intent on a person... morals are very important on how we engage with others,we have to see and judge each situation, when we have done the right thing,your heart automatically feels at peace...Alhumduillah, and we fail..we have Allaah to turn back to and have learnt a well deserved lesson...In sha Allaah...our life is about learning and growing, building a relationship with Our creator and learning to live in peace and toco/exist with All His Creation insha Allaah..

 

[Muhaba]

Allah said in the Quran Surah Al-Duha, verses 9-10:

Therefore, treat not the orphan with harshness,
And repulse not the beggar;

So give at least a little to the beggar if you are unsure whether he/she is in fact needy or is he/she a habitual beggar. If you know for sure that the beggar is needy, then give him/her more according to your abilities and his/her needs.

 

[LauraS]

Funnily enough I had this conversation with my mum a couple of days ago because of an incident and was going to post a thread!

I was counting change for the bus and a woman came up to me asking for spare change to get something to eat. I could hardly say I had no money but I could have just refused her the money. I gave her some though. She did look poor but I still don't trust she wasn't just taking money :/ if I knew she was really hungry I would be very happy to give the money over, but I just got left with the feeling I was being duped, I think it was her attitude of just taking the money with barely a glance back. I had a mother and small daughter (who was clearly trained) coming up to me before, the girl grabbed hold of my arm and was pretending to cry saying " please please" hmmm, they looked fairly well off to me. Another time I saw a homeless man in the street, dressed as if it was winter and it was a hot summer day. He looked thin and ill, I felt so sorry for him, he wasn't begging for change but I gladly gave him some money anyway.

Maybe the best thing is to buy homeless people some food or drink?


It's where you find the balance between being kind and not being taken for a ride.

This isn't human related but my family and I were in Rhodes and a thin cat came running up to us meowing, clearly begging for food. I have never seen a cat so thin, it was awful to see and actually makes me nearly cry just thinking about it. The poor cat, I can't imagine how hungry he must have been. We bought him some food but we never saw him after that day to give him any more. It's really hope other people gave him food. I just the thought that he was so desperate he was running up to people hopefully meowing that's so heatbreaking and is something I'll never forget.

 

[Abz2000]

happens to me sometimes too,
i prefer to just give wot i can, since it is ultimately from Allah and Allah can give more,
some of them are fake, but then that's their own conscience to deal with.
i remember a lady sitting in front of tesco, and i was taking a takeaway home on the way from work, and i asked her if she ate chilli,
she said: i eat anything you'll give me! and you could see how grateful she was.

then a couple of days ago another woman came up crying, and asked for a bit of cash for food coz she was hungry,
well from the way she was crying, i gave her a lot more, enough for 3-4 takeaways,
but then as i walked on, i looked back and i think i saw her asking another girl lol!

wot can u say,
their own problem,
i think it's better to give wot u can if they ask unless ur sure it's a scam, since Allah has been generous in giving you beyond your needs,
and it's not always just food, some need it for other things,
And Allah knows best

 

[Qurratul Ayn]

:salamext:

Brother yasirslm, I know it's hard to differentiate who is begging for real and who is not. My advice would be just give a little bit, even if it is very less, I know you may not want to, but we do not know their real situation, only Allaah does, so just give a little, if you have spare change or so.

I had similar incidents just like the Brothers who have mentioned theirs. One day, I was eating in a food place by myself, and this man comes in, says his Salaam, I reply back, without looking, and he starts hassling me for money, saying to give £1 or £2 to him, just a little bit for him to eat. I was the only Muslim there, I just took out £5, laid it on the table, and he snatched it off there and literally ran out the door. Afterwards,I felt so guilty for giving him money, and very angry as it hit me that I was duped, then I started reading Surahs, and thinking of Allaah, and that calmed me down.

But Brother yasirslm, remember, what goes around, comes around. And only Allaah Ta'ala shall help us and Allaah Ta'ala knows best.

Hope this helped

:salamext:

 

[yasirslm]

Therefore, treat not the orphan with harshness,
And repulse not the beggar;

My

Brother yasirslm, I know it's hard to differentiate who is begging for real and who is not. My advice would be just give a little bit, even if it very less, I know you may not want to, but we do not know their real situation, only Allaah does, so just I've a little, if you have spare change or so.

Wherever I give something to Fake beggars..I feel I have done something wrong^o)

 

[Qurratul Ayn]

^ I know how you feel. Same here.

But they have asked you for help in a way, if you have the help within your power, you should help them. No matter what. Unless it is something negative.

As I've written before, we don't know what their situation is, only the Almighty does

May Allaah Ta'ala help us all