to ask until he secures the level of subsistence that covers his own needs and those of his dependents.
7 – A well-known legal maxim states: “The default presumption is the continuance of the original state.” Accordingly, a man who was once wealthy but has now fallen into hardship is not permitted to beg, nor may he be given zakah, until three sensible, trustworthy men from his own people—those who know his circumstances—testify, saying: “So-and-so has been struck by poverty, and begging has become lawful for him.” Without such testimony, the presumption remains that he is still wealthy and therefore ineligible for zakah.
8 – By contrast, someone who was not previously known to possess wealth needs no such testimony for it to be lawful to give him zakah.
9 – These, then, are the categories for whom begging is permissible and to whom zakah may rightly be paid. Anyone else who asks merely to accumulate and enlarge his wealth takes it as illicit gain that will consume him and his property along with him. We ask Allah for well-being.
10 – The scholars make one exception: requesting funds from the ruler of the Muslims. It is permissible to ask him whether one is rich or poor, because every claimant has a share in the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal).