Begging is rampant in Makkah and those asking for money receive the sympathy of the people. The main problem is determining who is a genuine beggar, as most of them are great actors who use their skills to collect money. The Holy Qur'an exhorts us not to chide beggars, but it also exhorts us to give charity to real beggars after carefully scrutinizing their situation. Beggars have groups and factions, and they are trained in the skills of begging. Last year, a newspaper reported that one beggar in Jeddah earned more than SR 20,000 a month and that he owned many houses and cars. Clearly a beggar could only earn such an amount by deceiving people and earning their sympathy. Seen from this perspective, extra caution should be taken so that our hard-earned money does not go to someone who does not really need it. It has been observed that many beggars pretend that they are hungry and have not eaten for a week, and they insist that they need money to buy food. In this situation, the best option is give them food. If they refuse to accept the food, then one must not give them money as this will only encourage them to deceive people further. Many beggars pretend that their hand or leg is fractured or that they have other medical problems and they ask for money so that they can get treatment. In this situation, one should not give money directly to the beggar but instead offer to take him to a hospital for treatment. If the beggar is in genuine need of medical attention, he will agree to accompany you and if not and he simply asks for money, then it is clear that he is only faking. Similarly, I have often noticed that when Umrah buses are about to leave from Makkah to Madina, some well-dressed people enter the buses half an hour before departure and ask passengers for money. Almost in tears, they narrate a story of having lost their wallet and of having no money to enable them to eat or drink. I think that people should understand such gimmicks and that they should not give money so that such acts can be discouraged. It should be remembered that beggars who are genuinely in need have some sense of shame in asking for money. Often such people will not openly ask for money and will never do so unless they have been unable to find any other means to ease their distress. Anees Lokhande, Al-Khobar
