Ibn Hibban

Kinanah ‘Adawi narrates: I was present with Sayyiduna Qabeesah bin Mukhaariq (may Allah be pleased with him) when some members of his tribe sought his help regarding the marriage of a man from their tribe, but he refused to give them anything. Those people got up and left him. Kinanah says: I said to him, “You are the chief of your tribe. Those people came to you asking for something, but you did not give them anything.” He replied, “As far as this matter is concerned, I will not give them anything. I will tell you about this. Once, I took responsibility for a payment on behalf of my tribe. I went to the service of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), informed him about it, and requested him to help me. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘O Qabeesah, we take the payment upon ourselves on your behalf, and will pay those people from the camels of charity.’ Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Asking is only permissible for three types of people: One, the person upon whom a payment is due; for him, asking is permissible until he fulfills that payment. Or, someone who is afflicted by a calamity and as a result loses his wealth; for him, asking is permissible until his basic needs are met. And one who is struck by hunger, and three wise men from his tribe testify about him that asking has become permissible for him; for such a person, asking is permissible until his basic needs are met. Other than this, asking is forbidden.’ (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:): The statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him), ‘Other than this, asking is forbidden,’ means: It is forbidden to ask the ruler for anything extra from the public treasury beyond one’s specific share except for these three cases. The reason is: In cases other than these three characteristics, asking from anyone other than the ruler is not a collection from the Muslims’ public treasury. At that time, it will be forbidden when a person does not have enough that would make him independent from asking.