The Prophet (ﷺ) said: He who begs (from people) when he is affluent will come on the Day of Resurrection with scrapes, scratchings, or lacerations on his face. He was asked: What constitutes affluence, Messenger of Allah? He replied:It is fifty dirhams or its value in gold.
The narrator Yahya said: Abdullah ibn Sufyan said to Sufyan: I remember that Shu'bah does not narrate from Hakim ibn Jubayr. Sufyan said: Zubayr transmitted to us this tradition from Muhammad ibn AbdurRahman ibn Yazid.
Chapter 543: To Whom Zakat Is To Be Paid And The Definition Of A Wealthy Person - كتاب الزكاة
‘Ata’ b. Yasar said :
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، عَنْ رَجُلٍ، مِنْ بَنِي أَسَدٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ نَزَلْتُ أَنَا وَأَهْلِي، بِبَقِيعِ الْغَرْقَدِ فَقَالَ لِي أَهْلِي اذْهَبْ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَسَلْهُ لَنَا شَيْئًا نَأْكُلُهُ فَجَعَلُوا يَذْكُرُونَ مِنْ حَاجَتِهِمْ فَذَهَبْتُ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَوَجَدْتُ عِنْدَهُ رَجُلاً يَسْأَلُهُ وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " لاَ أَجِدُ مَا أُعْطِيكَ " . فَتَوَلَّى الرَّجُلُ عَنْهُ وَهُوَ مُغْضَبٌ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ لَعَمْرِي إِنَّكَ لَتُعْطِي مَنْ شِئْتَ . فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " يَغْضَبُ عَلَىَّ أَنْ لاَ أَجِدَ مَا أُعْطِيهِ مَنْ سَأَلَ مِنْكُمْ وَلَهُ أُوقِيَّةٌ أَوْ عَدْلُهَا فَقَدْ سَأَلَ إِلْحَافًا " . قَالَ الأَسَدِيُّ فَقُلْتُ لَلَقِحَةٌ لَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْ أُوقِيَّةٍ وَالأُوقِيَّةُ أَرْبَعُونَ دِرْهَمًا . قَالَ فَرَجَعْتُ وَلَمْ أَسْأَلْهُ فَقَدِمَ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ شَعِيرٌ أَوْ زَبِيبٌ فَقَسَمَ لَنَا مِنْهُ - أَوْ كَمَا قَالَ - حَتَّى أَغْنَانَا اللَّهُ . قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ هَكَذَا رَوَاهُ الثَّوْرِيُّ كَمَا قَالَ مَالِكٌ .
A man from Banu Asad said : I and my family alighted at Baqi al-Gharqad. My wife said to me : Go the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) and beg something from him for our eating, and made a mention of there need. So I went to the Messenger of Allah(May peace be upon him). I found with a man who was begging from him and he was saying to him: I have nothing to give you. The man turned away from him in anger while he was saying: By my life, you give anyone you wish. The Messenger of Allah(May peace be upon him) said : He’s anger with me, for I have nothing to give him. If any of you begs when he has an Uqiyah or its equivalent, he has begged immoderately. The man of Banu Asad said : So I said : The she camel of ours is better than an uqiyah, while an uqiyah is equivalent to 40 Dirhams. I therefore returned and did not beg from him. Afterwards some barley and raisins where brought to the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him). He gave us a share from them (or as he reported)till Allah, the Exalted, made us self-sufficient(i.e well off).
Abu Dawud said: Al-Thawri narrated it as Malik narrated.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone begs when he has something equivalent to an uqiyah in value, he has begged immoderately. So I said: My she-camel, Yaqutah, is better than an uqiyah. The version of Hisham goes: "better than forty dirhams. So I returned and did not beg anything from him." Hisham added in his version: "An uqiyah during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was equivalent to forty dirhams."
Uyaynah ibn Hisn and Aqra' ibn Habis came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). They begged from him. He commanded to give them what they begged. He ordered Mu'awiyah to write a document to give what they begged. Aqra' took his document, wrapped it in his turban, and went away.
As for Uyaynah, he took his document and came to the Prophet (ﷺ) at his home, and said to him: Muhammad, do you see me? I am taking a document to my people, but I do not know what it contains, just like the document of al-Mutalammis. Mu'awiyah informed the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) of his statement.
Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: He who begs (from people) when he has sufficient is simply asking for a large amount of Hell-fire. (An-Nufayl (a transmitter) said elsewhere: "embers of Hell".)
They asked: Messenger of Allah, what is a sufficiency? (Elsewhere an-Nufayl said: What is a sufficiency which makes begging unfitting?)
He replied: It is that which would provide a morning and an evening meal. (Elsewhere an-Nufayl said: It is when one has enough for a day and night, or for a night and a day.) He (an-Nufayl) narrated to us this tradition briefly in the words that I have mentioned.
I came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and swore allegiance to him, and after telling a long story he said: Then a man came to him and said: Give me some of the sadaqah (alms). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah is not pleased with a Prophet's or anyone else's decision about sadaqat till He has given a decision about them Himself. He has divided those entitled to them into eight categories, so if you come within those categories, I shall give you what you desire.
The poor man(miskin) is not one who is admitted (by the people) with one or two dates or with one or two morsels but is one, who does not beg anything from his people and is not taken notice of so that alms may be given to him.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said something similar as mentioned in the preceding tradition. This version adds: But the poor man (miskin) who abstains from begging from the people is one (according to the version of Musaddad who does not get enough so that he may not beg from the people, nor is his need known to the people, so that alms be given to him. This is the one who has been deprived. Musaddad did not mention the words "one who avoids begging from the people."
Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by Muhammad bin Thawr and 'Abd al-Razzaq on the authority of Ma'mar. They mentioned that the word "deprived" is the statement of al-Zuhri, and this is more sound.
Two men informed me that they went to the Prophet (ﷺ) when he was at the Farewell Pilgrimage while he was distributing the sadaqah and asked him for some of it. He looked us up and down, and seeing that we were robust, he said: 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.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Sadaqah may not be given to a rich man or to one who has strength and is sound in limbs.
Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by Sufyan from Sa'd bin Ibrahim like the tradition narrated by Ibrahim. The version of Shu'bah from Sa'd has: "for a man who has strength and is robust." The other version of this tradition from the Prophet (ﷺ) have the words "for a man who has strength and is robust." Others have "for a man who has strength and is sound in limbs." 'Ata bin Zuhair said that he had met 'Abd Allah bin 'Amr who said: "Sadaqah is not lawful for a strong man nor for a man who has strength and is sound in limbs."
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Sadaqah may not be given to rich man, with the exception of five classes: One who fights in Allah's path, or who collects it, or a debtor, or a man who buys it with his money, or a man who has a poor neighbour who has been given sadaqah and gives a present to the rich man.
Chapter 544: The Rich Person Who Is Allowed To Accept Sadaqah - كتاب الزكاة
The aforesaid tradition has also been transmitted by abu-Said al-Khudri to the same effect to a different chain of narrators, attributing it to the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him).
Abu-Dawud said :
حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِمَعْنَاهُ . قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ وَرَوَاهُ ابْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ عَنْ زَيْدٍ كَمَا قَالَ مَالِكٌ وَرَوَاهُ الثَّوْرِيُّ عَنْ زَيْدٍ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي الثَّبْتُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم .
Ibn ‘Uyainah reported from Zaid, from whom Malik narrated and Thwari narrated from Zaid that an authentic narrator reported from the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him)
Chapter 544: The Rich Person Who Is Allowed To Accept Sadaqah - كتاب الزكاة
Abu-Said reported :
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَوْفٍ الطَّائِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا الْفِرْيَابِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ عِمْرَانَ الْبَارِقِيِّ، عَنْ عَطِيَّةَ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم
" لاَ تَحِلُّ الصَّدَقَةُ لِغَنِيٍّ إِلاَّ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَوِ ابْنِ السَّبِيلِ أَوْ جَارٍ فَقِيرٍ يُتَصَدَّقُ عَلَيْهِ فَيُهْدِي لَكَ أَوْ يَدْعُوكَ " . قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ وَرَوَاهُ فِرَاسٌ وَابْنُ أَبِي لَيْلَى عَنْ عَطِيَّةَ عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِثْلَهُ .
Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) said : Sadaqah is not lawful for a rich person except what comes as a result of Jihad or what a poor neighbor gifts you out of the sadaqah given to him, or he entertains you in a feast.
Abu-Dawud said : This has been transmitted by Abu- Said through a different chain of narrators in a similar way.
Basheer b. Yasar said that a man from the Ansar called Sahi b. abu-Hatmah told him that Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) gave one Hundred camels to him a blood-wit from among the camels of sadaqah, i.e a blood-wit for the Ansari who was killed at Khaibar.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Acts of begging are lacerations with which a man disfigures his face, so he who wishes may preserve his self-respect, and he who wishes may abandon it; but this does not apply to one who begs from a ruler, or in a situation which makes it necessary.
I became a guarantor for a payment, and I came to Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him). He said: Wait till I receive the sadaqah and I shall order it to be given to you. He then said : Begging, Qabisah, 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 who has been stricken by a calamity and it destroys his property 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, about whom three intelligent members of his people confirm by saying: So and so has been smitten by poverty, to such a person begging is allowed till be gets what will support life (or he said, what will provide a reasonable subsistence), after which he must stop (begging). Any other reason for begging, Qabisah, is forbidden, and one who engages in such consumes it as a thing which is forbidden.
A man of the Ansar came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and begged from him.
He (the Prophet) asked: Have you nothing in your house? He replied: Yes, a piece of cloth, a part of which we wear and a part of which we spread (on the ground), and a wooden bowl from which we drink water.
He said: Bring them to me. He then brought these articles to him and he (the Prophet) took them in his hands and asked: Who will buy these? A man said: I shall buy them for one dirham. He said twice or thrice: Who will offer more than one dirham? A man said: I shall buy them for two dirhams.
He gave these to him and took the two dirhams and, giving them to the Ansari, he said: Buy food with one of them and hand it to your family, and buy an axe and bring it to me. He then brought it to him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) fixed a handle on it with his own hands and said: Go, gather firewood and sell it, and do not let me see you for a fortnight. The man went away and gathered firewood and sold it. When he had earned ten dirhams, he came to him and bought a garment with some of them and food with the others.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then said: This is better for you than that begging should come as a spot on your face on the Day of Judgment. Begging is right only for three people: one who is in grinding poverty, one who is seriously in debt, or one who is responsible for compensation and finds it difficult to pay.
We were with Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him), seven or eight or nine. He said : Do you take the oath of allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him), and we shortly took the oath of allegiance. We said: we have already taken the oath of allegiance to you. He repeated the same words three times. We then stretched our hands and took the oath of allegiance to him. A man (or us) said : We took the oath of allegiance to you; now on what should we take the oath of allegiance, Messenger of Allah ? He replied: That you should worship Allah, do not associate anything with Him, offer five times prayer, listen and obey. He uttered a word quietly : And do not beg from the people. When the whip fell on the ground, none of that group asked anyone to pick up the whip for him.
Abu Dawud said : The version of Hisham was not narrated by anyone except Sa'id.
Thawban, the client of the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him), reported him as saying :
حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُعَاذٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ عَاصِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِي الْعَالِيَةِ، عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ، قَالَ وَكَانَ ثَوْبَانُ مَوْلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم
" مَنْ تَكَفَّلَ لِي أَنْ لاَ يَسْأَلَ النَّاسَ شَيْئًا وَأَتَكَفَّلَ لَهُ بِالْجَنَّةِ " . فَقَالَ ثَوْبَانُ أَنَا . فَكَانَ لاَ يَسْأَلُ أَحَدًا شَيْئًا .
If anyone guarantees me that he will not beg from people, I will guarantee him Paradise. Thawban said : I (will not beg). He never asked anyone for anything.
Some of the Ansar begged from the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) and he gave them something. They later begged from him again and he gave them something so that what he had was exhausted.
He then said :What I have I shall never store away from you but Allah will strengthen the abstinence of him who abstains, will give a satisfaction to him who wants to be satisfied, and will strengthen the endurance of him who shows endurance. No one has been given a more ample gift than endurance.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If one who is afflicted with poverty refers it to me, his poverty will not be brought to an end; but if one refers it to Allah, He will soon give him sufficiency, either by a speedy death or by a sufficiency which comes later.
Chapter 548: On Abstinence From Begging - كتاب الزكاة
Narrated Ibn al-Firasi:
حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا اللَّيْثُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ رَبِيعَةَ، عَنْ بَكْرِ بْنِ سَوَادَةَ، عَنْ مُسْلِمِ بْنِ مَخْشِيٍّ، عَنِ ابْنِ الْفِرَاسِيِّ، أَنَّ الْفِرَاسِيَّ، قَالَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَسْأَلُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم
" لاَ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ سَائِلاً لاَ بُدَّ فَاسْأَلِ الصَّالِحِينَ " .
Al-Firasi asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): May I beg, Messenger of Allah? The Prophet (ﷺ) said: No, but if there is no escape from it, beg from the upright.
Chapter 548: On Abstinence From Begging - كتاب الزكاة
Ibn al-Saidi said :
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْوَلِيدِ الطَّيَالِسِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا اللَّيْثُ، عَنْ بُكَيْرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الأَشَجِّ، عَنْ بُسْرِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ السَّاعِدِيِّ، قَالَ اسْتَعْمَلَنِي عُمَرُ - رضى الله عنه - عَلَى الصَّدَقَةِ فَلَمَّا فَرَغْتُ مِنْهَا وَأَدَّيْتُهَا إِلَيْهِ أَمَرَ لِي بِعُمَالَةٍ فَقُلْتُ إِنَّمَا عَمِلْتُ لِلَّهِ وَأَجْرِي عَلَى اللَّهِ . قَالَ خُذْ مَا أُعْطِيتَ فَإِنِّي قَدْ عَمِلْتُ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَعَمَّلَنِي فَقُلْتُ مِثْلَ قَوْلِكَ فَقَالَ لِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم
" إِذَا أُعْطِيتَ شَيْئًا مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ تَسْأَلَهُ فَكُلْ وَتَصَدَّقْ " .
Umar employed me to collect the sadaqah. When I finished doing so and gave it to him, he ordered payment to be given to me. I said: I did only for Allah’s sake, and my reward will come from Allah. He said: Take what you are given, for I acted (as a collector) during the time of the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) and he assigned me a payment. Thereupon, I said the same kind of thing as you have said, to which Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) said: When you are given something without asking for it, you should use it for your own purpose and as sadaqah.
Chapter 548: On Abstinence From Begging - كتاب الزكاة
Abd Allah b. ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) said when he was on the pulpit speaking of sadaqah and abstention from it and begging :
the upper hand is better than the lower one, the upper being the one which bestows and the lower which begs.
Abu Dawud said : The version of this tradition narrated by Ayyub from Nafi is disputed. The narrator `Abd al-Warith said in his version : `The upper hand is the one which abstains from begging;” but most of the narrators have narrated from Hammad b. Zaid from Ayyub the words “ The upper hand is the one which bestows.” A narrator from Hammad said in his version “the one which abstains from begging.”
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Hands are of three types: Allah's hand is the upper one; the bestower's hand is the one near it; the beggar's hand is the lower one. So bestow what is surplus, and do not submit yourself to the demand of your soul.
Chapter 549: On Giving Sadaqah To Banu Hashim - كتاب الزكاة
Narrated AbuRafi':
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ كَثِيرٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنِ الْحَكَمِ، عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي رَافِعٍ، عَنْ أَبِي رَافِعٍ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَعَثَ رَجُلاً عَلَى الصَّدَقَةِ مِنْ بَنِي مَخْزُومٍ فَقَالَ لأَبِي رَافِعٍ اصْحَبْنِي فَإِنَّكَ تُصِيبُ مِنْهَا . قَالَ حَتَّى آتِيَ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَأَسْأَلَهُ فَأَتَاهُ فَسَأَلَهُ فَقَالَ
" مَوْلَى الْقَوْمِ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَإِنَّا لاَ تَحِلُّ لَنَا الصَّدَقَةُ " .
The Prophet (ﷺ) sent a man of the Banu Makhzum to collect sadaqah. He said to AbuRafi': Accompany me so that you may get some of it. He said: (I cannot take it) until I go to the Prophet (ﷺ) and ask him. Then he went to him and asked him. He said: The sadaqah is not lawful for us, and the client of a people is treated as one of them.