ACCEPTING PRESENT

It is harâm and very ugly to beg without any strong necessity. It is mubâh in case of strong necessity or need. Yet it will cause one’s demotion. It becomes wâjib in case of danger of death. If one does not ask from others and dies as a result of this, one dies as a sinful person. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam’ sent a present to hadrat ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’. ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ would not accept the present and sent it back. When they met some time later, the Messenger of Allah asked, “Why didn’t you accept it?” Hadrat ’Umar answered, “O the Messenger of Allah! You said, ‘The most beneficent among you is the one who would not take anything from anyone.’”Upon this Rasûlullah said, “That statement of mine was about asking and taking. If something comes to you without your asking for it, it is rizq (sustenance) sent by Allâhu ta’âlâ.” Hadrat ’Umar answered, “I swear by Allâhu ta’âlâ that I shall never ask for anything from anyone and I shall take anything that will come without my asking for it.” It is stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “If a person who is hungry or who needs something does not ask from anybody and expects his need from Allâhu ta’âlâ, Allâhu ta’âlâ will open gates of one year’s sustenance for him.”