Assalamu alaykum warahmatullah!

"Give to the near of kin his due, and also to the needy and the wayfarers. Do not squander your wealth wastefully; for those who squander wastefully are Satan's brothers, and Satan is ever ungrateful to his Lord." (Q17:26-27) Instructions of this nature abound in the Qur’an and ahadith. Consequently, Muslims are very quick to want to share their resources with others with the resultant effect that a large army of professional beggars has emerged among the rank and file of the Muslims. Is this the desired consequence of the generosity that Islam preaches?

Allah has given man control over the earth and made it a duty upon man to profit from this favor and to exert himself to seek Allah's bounties throughout the earth. It is, therefore, not permitted for a Muslim to stay idle doing nothing to make a living on the pretext of devoting his life to worship or putting trust in Allah. He should know that the sky never rains gold or silver. Also, it is not permissible for him to depend on charity while he is able to earn a sufficient subsistence for himself and his family through his own efforts. In this regard, the Prophet, SAW, says:
1. "Charity is Halal (lawful) neither for the rich nor for the able bodied." (At-Tirmidhi)
2. "He who begs without need is like a person holding a burning piece of coal in his hand.'' (Al-Bayhaqi & Ibn Khuzaymah)
3. "Anyone who begs from people in order to increase his wealth will have his face scratched on the Day of Resurrection, and will eat burning stones from Hell; so let him reduce it (his punishment) or let him increase it as he pleases." (At-Tirmidhi). This means that it is up to him to decrease his punishment by not begging, and vice-versa.
Begging in Islam is forbidden except in case of dire necessity. Muslims believe it's better to depend on Allah for everything, the "Provider & Protector." According to Islamic beliefs, no Muslim should ever be hungry and no Muslim must ever beg. This is made possible where the Zakah institution is well established and there is good management of the funds thereof for the benefit of the Ummah. A Muslim nation is believed to be one community in which the welfare of every member is the community's responsibility. In the event of dire need, every member of the community will rally round the persons affected and get him the needed relief.

Why is Begging Unlawful in Islam?
There primary reasons why begging is prohibited according to Islam are as follow:
1. Begging will cause the Muslim to lose dependence on Allah alone. The Muslim turns from asking Allah for money and support and turns to asking men for help. Allah admonishes us that “… And whosoever puts his trust in Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him.” Q65:2-3
2. The Muslim who begs lowers himself before others and thus loses honor and dignity which Allah spoke of in Q17:70. Sayyiduna Zubair Bin Awam (RA) reported that the Glorious Prophet of Allah (SAW) said: "That one of you takes his rope and then comes with a load of wood upon his back and sells it is better than to beg of men whether they give or reject him." (Bukhari)
3. The Muslim who begs causes others to go without. Because of the exhortations on the need to give Sadaqah, Muslims hasten to assist others even to the point of depriving themselves. Muslims are afraid to anger Allah by not helping the beggar and the person who gives charity and does not have the funds, feels a loss of property for their family.
4. Begging weakens the economic base of the Muslim Ummah as it encourages laziness. Charity basically is a re-distribution of already earned income which does not constitute a productive activity and therefore does not contribute to the GDP. If, therefore, the preponderance of the people are given to begging, it worsens the economy of the Muslim nations by raising the level of dependency on hand-outs.
5. The Prophet (SAW) said, “Every man who shall beg in order to increase his property, Allah will diminish it.”
6. The Prophet (SAW) said, “Verily Allah loves a Muslim with a family, who is poor, and withholds himself from the unlawful and from begging.”
7. The Prophet said, “Whoever has food for a day and a night, it is prohibited for him to beg.”

When can Begging be tolerated in Islam?
Begging, even though not allowed, may be resorted to only in the following circumstances:
1. A man who has debts is allowed to beg until the debt is paid in full.
2. A man who has experienced a disaster which has ruined his home such as with an earthquake, tornado, flood, fire or man-made disasters like ISIL/Boko Haram destructions, is allowed to beg until he is able to work once more.
3. A man who is starving or in dire need is permitted to beg if three men speak of this need or express their agreement that this is appropriate for the individual. It is lawful for this Muslim to beg until able to work once more.
4. A traveler, though may be rich at home, who is dispossessed of his properties during a journey may beg to get what is sufficient to take him back home.
According to Rasulullah (SAW), "What is besides these in begging is unlawful and its owner eats unlawful things" meaning that once the necessity has been satisfied continuance of begging and the proceeds therefrom are unlawful (haram).

The Destitute is the One Who Does not Ask
In our midst are some people who are poor but are not so visible to the others because they have refused to take to begging. They are not called faqeer (the poor) but miskeen (destitute). The miskeen is one of those entitled to assistance as per Q9:60. They are sought for and assisted. In Islam, blessed is the Muslim who gives to such a person in their attempts to please Allah because they are a people who place reliance on Allah.

Abu Hurairah (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "The destitute (miskeen) is not one who goes around begging from people and desists when given a morsel or two. The destitute is a person who does not have enough for his sustenance, yet people do not realize that (his needy condition) so as to give him in charity, and he does not ask people (for charity). "(Bukhari)

Beggars have become so brazen that they make no discrimination as to the person they approach for alms. We see situations where a Muslim goes into a church to ask for alms and he not only get humiliated but get Islam ridiculed. A man asked Allah’s apostle (SAW): "May I beg from people, O Messenger of Allah, when necessitous?" The Prophet (SAW) said, "Do not beg unless absolutely compelled, then only from the virtuous."

Summary of Islamic Position on Begging
1. It is not haram (forbidden) in Islam to accept charity that is freely given from a Muslim who is trying to please Allah. It is forbidden to beg when a genuine need does not exist. Even with a genuine case, the person approached for alms must be the pious whose source of wealth is pure.
2. Muslims are instructed to avoid giving charity to one who begs regularly so as not to institutionalize begging and encourage laziness.
3. It is forbidden for a Muslim to tell friends and neighbors about loss of employment and home with hopes of charity except for help to get another job or provide temporary accommodation. It is with sincere hope, though, that Muslims will indeed help those in dire need and that charity be given daily, weekly and monthly to please Allah, the "Creator, the Benefactor and the Forgiver of Sins, not just at Ramadan as we mostly do.

Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri quotes the Prophet, SAW, as saying: "The likeness of a believer and the likeness of belief are similar to the horse that, tied to its post, oscillates around. The believer may forget, but he returns to his belief. Thus, give your food to the righteous people and entrust your favors to the believers." (Reported by Ahmad)”

I ASK Allah for protection and guidance for you and I to be able to uphold the pristine Islam which His Prophet (SAW) has bequeathed to us.