Delegation of Sons of Hilal

Among the delegations that came to Madinah in order to pay allegiance to the Messenger of God was the delegation of Sons of Hilal. The delegation consisted of two people: Abdi Awf b. Asram and Qa­bisa b. Mukhariq.[1]

When Abdi Awf came to the presence of the Prophet and became a Muslim, the Prophet asked him, “What is your name?”

He said, “Abdi Awf.”

The Prophet said, “You are Abdullah,” and changed his name.

Is it Permissible to Ask Help from People?

Qa­bisa b. Mukhariq, one of the delegates of Sons of Hilal, said to the Prophet, “O Messenger of God! I stood security for somebody from my tribe; now, I am in debt. Will you help me about it?”[2]

The Messenger of God said to Qa­bias, “All right! Wait a bit. When zakah goods come from somewhere, I will pay your debt.” Then, he said, “O Qabisa! Know it very well that it is not appropriate to ask something from people except for the following three situations: 1) a person who becomes indebted in order to mediate between two people (or two tribes and clans), 2) a person who loses all of his property due to a disaster, 3) a person who is definitely poor by the witnessing of three sane people from his tribe. O Qabisa! It is haram to beg for the other people.”[3]

Thus, this demand of Qabisa became a means for the determination of an important criterion in the social life.

In Islam, begging, asking something from somebody though one is not in need is regarded as a bad characteristic. There are several hadiths of the Messenger of God regarding the issue.