Musnad Ahmad

It is narrated from Hazrat Qabeesah that once I took the responsibility of paying off someone’s debt, and in this regard, I went to the service of the Prophet (peace be upon him) with a request for assistance. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “We will pay this debt on your behalf and will take out this amount from the animals of charity.” Then he said, “Qabeesah! Except for three situations, it is not permissible to ask (beg) in any case. First, the person who becomes a guarantor for someone’s debt, it is permissible for him to ask until he pays off that debt, and then he should refrain from asking. Second, the person who is so needy and afflicted by hunger that three trustworthy men from his people testify to his neediness or destitution, then it is permissible for him to ask until he finds some means of livelihood, then he should refrain from asking. Third, the person upon whom some sudden calamity befalls and all his wealth is destroyed, then it is permissible for him to ask until he finds some means of livelihood, then he should refrain from asking. In any other case, asking is forbidden. O Qabeesah, then the one who asks will be consuming what is unlawful.”