531 – Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) said: “Begging is a scratch with which a man mars his own face, unless he asks a ruler, or in a matter that is unavoidable.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who declared it authentic.⦗1⦘
Degree of the ḥadith
The narration is ḥasan (sound). It was recorded by Abū Dāwūd (1639), al-Nasāʾī (2600), and al-Tirmidhi, who said: “This ḥadith is ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.” Al-Shawkānī remarked: “Kadd is the wording used by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Ḥibbān; Abū Dāwūd’s version has kadḥ.”
Glossary of terms
– al-masʾalah: asking people for their wealth; begging.
– kadd: with an open kāf and a doubled, un-dotted dāl. In al-Nihāyah: kadd means exertion or toil.
– wajhuhu (“his face”): In al-Nihāyah: the ‘face’ here refers to a person’s honor and radiance.
– amr lā budda minhu: necessities such as acting as a guarantor (ḥamālah), a sudden calamity (jāʾiḥah), or severe poverty (faqah).
– lā budda: i.e., there is no escape, no alternative, no way around it; the word budda appears only in negative constructions.
Points derived from the ḥadith
- The report condemns begging, describing it as a blemish and a hardship that a man places upon his own face in front of people,