Begging and Hoarding of Money

প্রশ্ন · Question

Assalam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah
I ask Allah that my message reaches you while you are in the grace and
blessing of Allah.
It is stated in Article 142: “It is forbidden to hoard money even if its
zakat is given.”
And it was mentioned in the explanation of the article on page 77 in
the book Introduction to the Constitution, Volume 2 (Arabic version),
in the explanation of the Hadith of Abu Umama that: “This means that
hoarding gold and silver is absolutely forbidden, even if it is two dinars,
and even if it is one dinar as long as it is hoarding,” and I understood
that the poor cannot ask people for more than what he needs.
The question is: What is the upper limit (maximum) that a poor person
can ask of people so that he is not considered a hoarder of money in
our present time? And what is his need? What is the amount that he
can ask from the people and keep? And when does he stop asking
(begging)?
Jazak Allah Khair.

উত্তর · Answer

Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh:

Barak Allah feek for making duaa for us. We too make duaa for you to
get the good.
First: Your question is in essence about the issue of begging, which is
another topic different from the issue of hoarding. Hoarding has
nothing to do with poverty or wealth, and it has nothing to do with
need or lack of need, rather it is focused on collecting money, hoarding
and storing it for no need intended to spend it on, regardless of
whether the hoarder is rich or poor. The rich person, who is not in
need, may hoard money and store it for no need to spend it on, and
the poor person may also hoard money a nd store it for no need to
spend it on, even though he is needy, but he does not spend the
money that he has to meet his need, but rather he hoards it and stores
it, with his need for it. And this was what some of the people of Suffah
did, for they were needy because they lived on people’s charity and at
the same time some of them were hoarding gold (one and two dinars)
and stored it for no need to spend it on.
The topic of hoarding and its prohibition is detailed in the book, The
Economic System in Islam. It can be referred to, for it is sufficient, Allah
willing.
Second: We have already been asked about hoarding and saving, and
my answer to the questioner was on 13/1/2014 and it stated:
(1- Hoarding money is collecting it for no need. If there is a legitimate
need, such as collecting money to build a house, buy land, build a
factory, or want to get married, or you have children, and you collect
installments for them to send them to school, or to buy a car, or the
like, then this is a collection for a need and it is not hoarding, rather it
is “saving for a need” and it is a collection that is halal, and zakat is
paid for it if a year has passed for its nisab…
2- Collecting the financial sustenance (nafaqa) for him and for his
dependents which is sufficient for him for one year is permissible and

is not hoarding, because the Prophet ﷺ used to give the mothers of
the believers a year’s financial sustenance (nafaqa). Muslim narrated
on the authority of Umar, who said:
«فَاءَ اللهُ عَلََ رَسُولِهِ، مِمَّا لَمْ يُوجِفْ عَلَيْهِ الْمُسْلِمُونَ بِخَيْلٍ
َ
مْوَالُ بَن ِي النَّضِيِْ مِمَّا أ
َ
كَانَتْ أ
هْلِهِ نَفَقَةَ سَنَةٍ، وَمَا بَق ِيَ يَجْعَلُهُ ف ِي
َ
وَلََ رِكَابٍ، فَكَانَتْ لِلنَّنِْير ﷺ خَاصَّةً، فَكَانَ يُنْفِقُ عَلََ أ
الْكُرَاعِ وَالسرلََحِ، عُدَّةً ف ِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ »
“The wealth of Banu an -Nadir (one of the Jewish tribes) was part of
what Allah bestowed on His Messenger, and which the Muslims had
not ridden on horses or camels to get (i.e., they did not have to fight);
so they belonged specially to the Prophet ﷺ who would give his
family their sustenance for a year, then applied what remained for
horses and weapons and equipment in the Path of Allah, Who is
Great and Glorious.”
An-Nawawi says in his explanation of Sahih Muslim: (the statement,
‘the Prophet who would give his family their sustenance for a year’,
means that he keeps at the side a year’s expense for them, but he
spent before the end of the year in good actions, so the money is spent
before the year ends…). Therefore, collecting money for sustenance
(nafaqa) for a period of one year is not hoarding, and zakat is paid on
its nisab if a year has passed...) End of quote from the answer to the
previous question.
Third: As for begging, there are detailed Shariah evidences that show
the ruling on begging and its legal limits:
1- Shariah forbids asking people for their money unnecessarily, and
commands those who are able to work to get the money:
Allah ﷻ said in praise of the poor who restrain himself:
[حْصُِْوا ف ِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لََ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ ض َْباً ف ِي الَْْرْضِ يَحْسَبُهُمُ الْجَاهِلُ
ُ
لِلْفُقَرَاءِ الهذِينَ أ
لُونَ النَّاسَ إِلْحَافاً وَمَا تُنْفِقُوا مِنْ خَيٍْْ فَإِ
َ
غْنِيَاءَ مِنَ التَّعَفُّفِ تَعْرِفُهُمْ بِسِيمَاهُمْ لََ يَسْأ
َ
أنَّ اللَّهَ
بِهِ عَلِيمٌ ]

“[Charity is] for the poor who have been restricted for the cause of
Allah, unable to move about in the land. An ignorant [person] would
think them self -sufficient because of their restraint, but you will
know them by their [characteristic] sign. They do not ask people
persistently [or at all]. And whatever you spend of good - indeed,
Allah is Knowing of it” [Al-Baqara: 273].
This verse portrays forbidding from asking people's money:
Muslim narrated in his Sahih on the chapter, on the authority of Abu
Huraira, he said, the Prophet ﷺ said: «لُ
َ
مْوَالَهُمْ تَكَي ُّاً فَإِنَّمَا يَسْأ
َ
لَ النَّاسَ أ
َ
مَنْ سَأ
وْ لِيَسْتَكْي ِْ
َ
جَمْراً فَلْيَسْتَقِلَّ أ » “He who begs the property of others to
increase his own is asking only for live coals, so let him ask little or
much.” In Sharh An-Nawawi of Muslim, it states the following: [His ﷺ
saying: «وْ لِيَسْتَكْي ِْ
َ
لُ جَمْراً فَلْيَسْتَقِلَّ أ
َ
مْوَالَهُمْ تَكَي ُّاً فَإِنَّمَا يَسْأ
َ
لَ النَّاسَ أ
َ
مَنْ سَأ » “He
who begs the property of others to increase his own is asking only for
live coals, so let him ask little or much.” Alqadi said what it means is
that he will be punished with fire, and it is possible that the meaning is
literal, and that whatever he takes will turn into live coal that will burn
him as in the case of the one prevents giving zakat].
It was also mentioned in Sahih Muslim in the same chapter, on the
authority of Abu Hurayrah (ra) who said: I heard the Messenger of
Allah ﷺsay: «حَدُكُمْ فَيَحْطِبَ عَلََ ظَهْرِهِ فَيَتَصَدَّقَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْن ِيَ بِهِ مِنَ
َ
لََْنْ يَغْدُوَ أ
فْضَلُ مِنَ الْيَ
َ
وْ مَنَعَهُ ذَلِكَ فَإِنَّ الْيَدَ الْعُلْيَا أ
َ
عْطَاهُ أ
َ
لَ رَجُلاً أ
َ
نْ يَسْأ
َ
النَّاسِ خَيٌْْ لَهُ مِنْ أ دِ
بِمَنْ تَعُولُ
ْ
السُّفْلََ وَابْدَأ » “It is better for one among you to bring a load of
firewood on his back and give charity out of it (and satisfy his own
need) and be independent of people, than that he should beg from
people, whether they give him anything or refuse him. Verily the
upper hand is better than the lower hand, and begin (charity) with
your dependents.”
2- Shariah permitted asking people for their money in specific cases,
explained by the Messenger ﷺIn the Hadith narrated by Muslim in
his Sahih, on the authority of Qabisa bin Mukhariq Al -Hilali, he said: I

became a guarantor for a payment and went to the Messenger of Allah
ﷺ to beg from him regarding it. He ﷺ said: «مُرَ
ْ
تِيَنَا الصَّدَقَةُ فَنَأ
ْ
قِمْ حَن َّ تَأ
َ
أ
لَكَ بِهَا »َحَدِ ثَلََثَةٍ؛ رَجُلٍ تَحَمَّلَ حَمَالَةً
لَةَ لََ تَحِلُّ إِلََّ لِْ
َ
يَا قَبِيصَةُ إِنَّ الْمَسْأ
صَابَتْهُ جَائِحَةٌ اجْتَاحَتْ مَالَهُ فَحَلهتْ
َ
لَةُ حَن َّ يُصِيبَهَا ثُمَّ يُمْسِكُ، وَرَجُلٌ أ
َ
فَحَلهتْ لَهُ الْمَسْأ
صَابَتْهُ فَاقَةٌ حَن َّ
َ
وْ قَالَ سِدَاداً مِنْ عَيْشٍ، وَرَجُلٌ أ
َ
لَةُ حَن َّ يُصِيبَ قِوَاماً مِنْ عَيْشٍ أ
َ
لَهُ الْمَسْأ
لَةُ حَن َّ
َ
صَابَتْ فُلََناً فَاقَةٌ فَحَلهتْ لَهُ الْمَسْأ
َ
يَقُومَ ثَلََثَةٌ مِنْ ذَوِي الْحِجَا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ لَقَدْ أ
لَةِ يَا قَبِيصَةُ سُحْتاً
َ
وْ قَالَ سِدَاداً مِنْ عَيْشٍ، فَمَا سِوَاهُنَّ مِنَ الْمَسْأ
َ
يُصِيبَ قِوَاماً مِنْ عَيْشٍ أ
كُلُهَا صَاحِبُهَا سُحْتاً
ْ
يَأ » “Wait till I receive the sadaqa and I shall order it to
be given you.” He then said, “Begging, Qabisa, is allowable only to
one of three classes: A man who has become a guarantor for a
payment, to whom begging is allowed till he gets it, after which he
must stop begging; a man whose property has been destroyed by a
calamity which has smitten him, to whom begging is allowed till he
gets what will support life (or he said, what will provide a reasonable
subsistence); and a man who has been smitten by poverty, the
genuineness of which is confirmed by three intelligent members of
his people, to whom begging is allowed till he gets what will support
life (or he said, what will provide a reasonable subsistence). Any
other reason for begging, Qabisa, is forbidden, and one who engages
in such consumes it as a thing which is forbidden.”
It is clear from this Hadith that the categories for whom asking for
money is allowed are: the man who bears a debt in order to reconcile
people, the man who has been afflicted by a calamity, and the poor
person in need.
3- These three categories are joined by those who follow them in the
ruling, such as the owner of a private debt who does not have money
to pay his debt because it is included under the word “Gharmeen” (in
debt) in Allah’s saying:
[إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِيْ ِ وَالْعَامِلِيْ َ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلهفَةِ قُلُوب ُهُمْ وَف ِي الررقَابِ
وَالْغَارِمِيْ َ وَف ِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ فَرِيضَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ ]

“Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for
those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together
[for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt
and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler - an
obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise” [At-
Tawba: 60]. Likewise the fit person but cannot find work, i.e., the one
who cannot find work to earn his living, and has no money or relative
to spend on him, because the Prophet ﷺsaid in the Hadith narrated
by Al-Nasa’i and others on the authority of Hisham bin Urwah, he said:
My father told me he said: Ubayd Allah bin Uday bin Al -Khiyar told me
that two men told him that they came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
and asked Him for Sadaqa. He ﷺ looked us up and down, and seeing
that we were robust, he said: «إِنْ شِئْتُمَا وَلََ حَظه فِيهَا لِغَن ِيٍّ وَلََ لِقَوِي
مُكْتَسِبٍ » “If you wish, I shall give you something, but there is nothing
spare in it for a rich man or for one who is strong and able to earn a
living.” Al-Albani said: It is Sahih (Hadith). And the one who bears the
payment of Diyah (blood money) on behalf of a relative, close friend or
in-law who committed a murder, needs to pay it for the family of the
one being murdered, and failing to pay it, leads to the killing of the
relative, close friend or in -law, which will bring great pain for (the
guarantor). This is in the Hadith narrated by Ahmad in his Musnad
from Anas bin Malik from the Prophet ﷺ that he ﷺ said: «لَةَ لََ
َ
إِنَّ الْمَسْأ
وْ فَقْرٍ مُدْقِعٍ
َ
وْ غُرْمٍ مُفْظِعٍ أ
َ
َحَدِ ثَلََثٍ ذِي دَمٍ مُوجِعٍ أ
تَحِلُّ إِلََّ لِْ » “Begging is allowed
for three, one responsible for blood -wit (finds it difficult to pay), one
seriously in debt and one who is in grinding poverty.”
It is permissible for these categories to ask from people’s money, until
the need for which they asked is fulfilled, and it is not permissible for
these categories to ask after that according to what is explained above.
It is not allowed for other than these types mentioned in the Hadith of
Qabisa and those who are in their judgement; it is not permitted for
them to ask people for their money.

4- We mentioned the limit of wealth that begging is not allowed with,
in the book, Funds in the Khilafah State under the chapter of Zakat
Expenditures.
[…Allah has prohibited the rich from taking Sadaqah. Abdullah b. Amru
said: The Messenger of Allah said: «لََ تَحِلُّ الصَّدَقَةُ لِغَن ِيٍّ، وَلََ لِذِي مِرَّةٍ
سَوِيٍّ » “Sadaqah is not Halal for the rich (person) nor the one of sound
and strong body (Zu Mirra).” The Zu Mirra is the person of strength
and acquiring ability. If he doesn’t have the strength and ability, then
he is considered poor. The rich person is the one who is independent
of others such that he receives more than is required to fulfil his
needs. There have come Ahadith clarifying who the rich person is.
Abdulllah b. Masud said: The Messenger of Allah said: «لُ
َ
حَدٍ يَسْأ
َ
مَا مِنْ أ
وْ خُمُوشاً ف ِي وَجْهِهِ.
َ
وْ خُدُوشاً، أ
َ
لَةً، وَهُوَ عَنْهَا غَن ِيٌّ، إِلاَّ جَاءَتْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كُدُوحاً، أ
َ
مَسْأ
وْ حِسَابُهَا مِنَ
َ
وْ مَا يُغْنِيهِ؟ قَالَ: خَمْسُونَ دِرْهَماً، أ
َ
قِيلَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، وَمَا غِنَاهُ، أ
الذَّهَبِ » “No person will ask for something while he is rich except, he
will come on the Day of Judgement with his face bitten, scratched or
wounded.” It was said: “O Messenger of Allah, what is his richness?”
He said: “50 Dirhams or its equivalent in gold.” (narrated by the five).
Whoever owns 50 silver Dirhams equal to 148.75 grams of silver, or its
equivalent in gold, in excess of his food, clothing, shelter and the
expenses of his family, children and servant is considered rich and it is
not allowed for him to take from the Sadaqah.] End of quote.
Therefore, such rich person must not ask the people (from their
money).
Fourth: The problem of begging and its solution:
It is worth noting that the spread of the phenomenon of begging in
Islamic countries is due to the exclusion of Islamic Law from
implementation and the great failure of the rulers in taking care of
people’s affairs. And it is heartbreaking to see swarms of beggars in
Muslim countries in front of mosques, in the streets and at street
intersections although Muslim countries are the vaults of resources

and wealth. The blame does not fall primarily on beggars, but rather
on the rulers who do not implement the Islamic Law, and above that
they do not look after people's affairs, do not meet their needs, and do
not provide them with a livelihood. The Khilafah Rashidah (rightly -
guided Caliphate) State that will come soon, Allah willing, will address
as one of its priorities the phenomenon of poverty in the Islamic
countries and the resulting miserable phenomena such as the
phenomenon of begging. We have explai ned in our books how Islam
dealt with the problem of poverty, especially what was mentioned in
the book on The Economic System, in detail. You can refer back to it.
Your Brother,
Abu Yasin
19 Jumada Al-Akhir 1443 AH
22/1/2022 CE