Mu'jam al-Saghir

Qur'an al-Majid has also declared such people eligible for zakat: ﴿وَالْغَارِمِينَ﴾ (: al-Tawbah 9:60). By this is meant the person who, in order to end a dispute between others, takes the disputed amount upon himself, but does not have the means to pay it on his own. He may take zakat funds and use them to pay the compensation.

(1) "Sudden calamity" refers to, for example: flood, fire, crop disease, storm, etc.

(2) "Bear witness"—this applies when the person is capable of earning, yet remains destitute. Otherwise, if he is not capable of earning at all, for example: a chronically ill person, then what need is there for testimony? Unless the people do not know him at all, in which case witnesses would be required.

See Hadith: 2580, 2581.

1640. Commentary: In this hadith, only three types of people are permitted to ask (for charity), and for them, receiving charity is lawful. Of these, one is wealthy and two are poor. Then, even among the poor, there are two situations: one apparent and the other hidden. A wealthy person may ask (for charity) when he becomes a guarantor for someone. The explanation of this is that if enmity arises among a community or certain individuals due to life or property, and reconciliation is not taking place—in fact, there is fear that the situation may worsen and conflict may erupt—then a virtuous person may offer to mediate and become a guarantor for the payment of debt, blood money (diyah), etc., so that reconciliation may occur among the Muslims and discord does not break out. In such a case, this wealthy person is permitted to seek assistance and ask from others, and the general public should also assist him from their charities. (This is the same situation that was explained in the benefit of hadith 1635 while clarifying the term "debtor" [ghārim].)

The second type is the person whose wealth is destroyed by some general, apparent calamity, such as a flood, fire, being drowned in the sea, or an earthquake, etc., and this is known to the public. For such a person, there is no need to demand proof or witnesses; rather, assistance should be given to him, and charity may be spent on him.

The third type is the person who, outwardly, is reputed to be wealthy and affluent, but secretly has suffered such a loss, deficit, theft, fraud, or betrayal that he has reached the point of starvation. For such a person, if three sensible individuals from his community testify, then it is permissible for him to ask (for charity), and it is necessary to assist him, and it is also permissible to give him charity, until he attains subsistence.

Other than these, asking (for charity) is forbidden and giving charity is not permissible. As for the construction of mosques, religious schools, jihad, and other welfare works which are important communal needs of the Muslim society, and the government does not take responsibility for them or provides very little assistance, then if one or more individuals, despite being wealthy, seek assistance from people to provide these necessities for society, it is also permissible for them to ask people for these purposes. Others are also obliged to assist them in such matters, provided that these individuals maintain their trustworthiness.

Lexical Explanation 522:
ثَلَاثَۃٍ — This has tanween on it. رَجُلٍ is in the genitive case because it is a substitute (badal) for ثلاثۃ, or it is in the nominative case. In this case, أَحَدُھُمْ would be a suppressed subject (mubtada’ mahzuf).
تَحَمَّلَ — He took responsibility, he undertook sponsorship.
حَمَالَۃً — The “ha” has a fatha and the “mim” is lightened (mukhaffaf). It refers to the wealth for which a person takes on the responsibility of payment on behalf of another, for example: taking on the responsibility to pay someone else’s debt, or pledging to pay someone’s blood money (diyah), or accepting the responsibility to pay an amount to resolve a dispute between two parties. If he is no longer able to pay, he may appeal for help from others and may take zakat.
ثُمَّ یُمسِکُ — Derived from imsak (to withhold). After fulfilling his need, he should immediately refrain from extending his hand to ask.
جَائِحَۃٌ — A calamity from the sky or the earth, for example: crops being destroyed due to extremely cold winds, fire, or flood.
أِجتَاحَت — To destroy.
قِوَامًا — The “qaf” has a kasrah underneath. It means that thing by which a person manages his needs and necessities and remedies his destitution.
أَلحِجٰی — The “ha” has a kasrah underneath and at the end is an alif maqsurah; it means intellect.
سُحْتٌ — The “sin” has a dammah and the “ha” is sakin; it means unlawful (haram).
یَسحَۃُ البَرکَۃَ — Means: that which sweeps away blessing.

Benefits and Issues 522:
In this hadith, a principle has been stated for determining the condition of the one who asks (begs), and that is: if three prominent, intelligent, and wise men from his community or tribe testify to his condition, destitution, and hunger, then he is permitted to ask. 2. From this hadith, it is understood that it is permissible for three types of people to ask, and it also contains the command to investigate and ascertain the condition of those who ask. From this, you can estimate how Islam has discouraged begging and encouraged labor and hard work.

Narrator of the Hadith:
Hazrat Qabisah bin Mukhariq al-Hilali radi Allahu anhu, whose kunyah is Abu Bishr. In Qabisah, the “qaf” has a fatha and the “ba” has a kasrah underneath. In Mukhariq, the “mim” has a dammah. His lineage is as follows: Qabisah bin Mukhariq bin Abdullah bin Shaddad al-Amiri al-Hilali. He was honored with the companionship (sahabah) of the Prophet. He resided in Basrah, came to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam with a delegation, and heard hadith from him. He is the narrator of six ahadith.

Benefit:
To ask people (for charity) with the intention of accumulating more wealth is forbidden (haram). Furthermore, in this hadith, asking (begging) has been permitted in three situations. In all three of these cases, it is clear that one should stop (asking) once the need has been fulfilled. It is not permissible to remain a beggar for one's entire life. In the present era, begging has become a profession. This should be condemned.