Sayyiduna Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Begging is a scratching with which a person scratches his own face; whoever wishes may preserve his face, and whoever wishes may abandon it, except that a person asks about a matter for which he has no alternative, or asks the ruler of the time."
Zayd bin Uqbah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I said this before al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf, and he said: Ask me, for I am a man of authority.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الزكاة / 7876