First Hand Experience!

Sometimes truely needy people who seek help from charity organizations are denied help. I personally know of 2 such cases. An expat widow with an orphan who has to work so hard to make her ends meet and has to spend many long hours from her young son. Also another expat woman and her son who were staying with a family she barely knew (they were helping her fisabillah). She made just enough money to eat. She and her child were denied charity. In fact, I was told that a sister who was helping them with their applications walked into the charity office and the workers were not very helpful at all. They were too busy beautifying themselves. Perhaps this could be one of the reasons why some of the beggars have to beg in the streets.

Keen to employ me in your store as security? I will get rid of them quick snap!

knowledge_is_light, thanks, I know the hadith, I prefer to give money to charitable societies who will check on the need, there are so many liars out there, and it would be much more effective to give it to the silent people who need it, rather than the people who cry, shout, lie just to pile-up more money.

shoeaddict - I understand ur horror...

like it posted on QL a few month back and by local papers too earlier, its some sort of gang/ring/syndicate operating around here.. they come in cars/vans to their locations and ask ppl for money...

I'm always in need of help from Allah (swt). So I thought I'd share this hadith with my Muslim brothers and sisters. It's better to give a little something then to suspect that everyone who begs or asks is a scammer. Whatever you spend for Allah, He will replace it with something better.Consider this act of charity as an investment with Allah. And He is the BEST ONE to invest with.

On the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) said :

Whosoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from him one of the griefs of the Day of Judgment. Whosoever alleviates (the lot of ) a needy person, Allah will alleviate (his lot) in this world and in the next. Whosoever shields a muslim Allah will shield him in this world and in the next. Allah will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother. Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise.

Related by Muslim .

Story of the Leper, the Bald Man and the Blind Man

Narrated Abu Huraira, that he heard Rasulullah sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam saying:

Allah willed to test three who were a leper, a blind man and a bald-headed man.

So, he sent them an angel who came to the leper and said, "What thing do you like most?" He replied, "Good color and good skin, for the people have a strong aversion to me." The angel touched him and his illness was cured, and he was given a good color and beautiful skin. The angel asked him, "What kind of property do you like best?" He replied, "Camels (or cows)." (The narrator is in doubt, for either the leper or the bald-headed man demanded camels and the other demanded cows.) So he (i.e. the leper) was given a pregnant she-camel, and the angel said (to him), "May Allah bless you in it."

The angel then went to the bald-headed man and said, "What thing do you like most?" He said, "I like good hair and wish to be cured of this disease, for the

people feel repulsion for me." The angel touched him and his illness was cured, and he was given good hair. The angel asked (him), "What kind of property do you like best?" He replied, "Cows." The angel gave him a pregnant cow and said, "May Allah bless you in it."

The angel went to the blind man and asked, 'What thing do you like best?' He said, "(I like) that Allah may restore my eye-sight to me so that I may see the people." The angel touched his eyes and Allah gave him back his eye-sight. The angel asked him, "What kind of property do you like best?" He replied, "Sheep." The angel gave him a pregnant sheep.

Afterwards, all the three pregnant animals gave birth to young ones, and multiplied and brought forth so much that one of the (three) men had a herd of camels filling a valley, and one had a herd of cows filling a valley, and one had a flock of sheep filling a valley.

Then the angel, disguised in the shape and appearance of a leper, went to the leper and said, "I am a poor man, who has lost all means of livelihood while on a journey. So none will satisfy my need except Allah and then you. In the Name of Him Who has given you such nice color and beautiful skin, and so much property, I ask you to give me a camel so that I may reach my destination." The man replied, "I have many obligations (so I cannot give you)." The angel said, "I think I know you; were you not a leper to whom the people had a strong aversion? Weren't you a poor man, and then Allah gave you (all this property)?" He replied, "(This is all wrong), I got this property through inheritance from my fore-fathers." The angel said, "If you are telling a lie, then let Allah make you as you were before."

Then the angel, disguised in the shape and appearance of a bald man, went to the bald man and said to him the same as he told the first one, and he too

answered the same as the first one did. The angel said, "If you are telling a lie, then let Allah make you as you were before."

The angel, disguised in the shape of a blind man, went to the blind man and said, "I am a poor man and a traveler, whose means of livelihood have been exhausted while on a journey. I have nobody to help me except Allah, and after Him, you yourself. I ask you in the Name of Him Who has given you back your eye-sight to give me a sheep, so that with its help, I may complete my journey." The man said, "No doubt, I was blind and Allah gave me back my eye-sight; I was poor and Allah made me rich; so take anything you wish from my property. By Allah, I will not stop you for taking anything (you need) of my property which you may take for Allah's sake." The angel replied, "Keep your property with you. You (i.e., the three men) have been tested and Allah is pleased with you and is angry with your two companions."

[Sahih Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 56 Virtues and Merits of the Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions Number 670]

lol... sorry bleu couldnt resist laughing...

Anyways i did call my neighbour,, she got Qrs15/- from them,,

weve encountered several women doing the same thing inside the shop that i work for.for example,in this case a woman came in carrying with her an infant and telling everone in arabic that she is a war victim and asked financial support.of course some people doled out money while others didnt.

the intrigiung part of the story is when she stepped out of the shop after getting money, i asked one of my co-workers to follow her;lo and behold,as my co worker reported back the woman is driving a moderately priced "brand new car".ekkkkkk!!!!!

the horror!!!

I once tried to give one of them a 20, it was thrown back to me, and she wanted at least 500, that's what you get when you're a Qatari. :(

I do not doubt for one moment that what you say is true.

Of course there are people that are scam artists and try it on. We all know this.

Unless there are pictures posted of all scam artists at all places, we, the general public do not know who is 'scam' or 'real'.

For me I give. Not for Kudos. Neither am I bragging, as was suggested the other night.

I just feel better by giving.

My thoughts are my own, but I doubt my Mum would agree with some of them.

The local charities here will study the cases of needy people, they have a relation with eachother, I know a guy who works for one of the local charities: A lady applied for help, saying that she has 10 kids and no money. After checking, they found out that she had 4 kids, an 8,000 QR salary, and a total of 12,000 QR from different charities, she also got a free house from the government since she was a widow...

We also regularly get people coming in from the region (UAE, Saudi, ...) claiming they came here to send their father/mother/son/child to a hospital and just need a few hundred to go back home... in malls and places like jareer, I once saw them get on a 2009 landcruiser, and count the money.

If you give them once, they'll keep showing up!! And then new people will show up as well!! Plus, it's illegal..

It can get creepy at times.. You don't want them to be familier with your house..

And there are charities in Qatar for the poor people..

But I agree, sometimes we just can't let people down..it doesn't feel right does it..

[img_assist|nid=7232|title=Dua|desc=Amen :-)|link=none|align=left|width=440|height=56]

For me the idea of someone coming to your home and demanding money is a bit much, like if a bum asks for a few bucks when i'm walking down the street it's really up to whatever mood i'm in that decides whether or not i'll give him something, and more often than not it doesn't really make me feel better about msyelf, but that's just me. I do feel that a few dollars/Riyalls isn't too much to spare. But as i said before when it's someone knocking on your door, where you live, eat, sleep and what not, that's a different story.

I agree, but she MAY have been so desperate, that was her only way.

Then again, she may have been a really good scam artist.

That is it, we never really know.

It may be illegal, it may be wrong, but for me, what is a couple of Riyals, you get rid of the scam artist OR you help somebody.

Either way it is a result.

My thoughts are my own, but I doubt my Mum would agree with some of them.

its not the 1st time when somebody asked for such help and i never let them down even knowing that i'm been ripped off..

the 'worry' of a sick parent it kinda shows on the face.. i've been through it and if i think now she had a blank expressionless face..

asking for is money is no biggy.. what made me panicked was her stepping towards me.. (i know it sounds weird, but u never know..)

You took a proper and sensible action extemporaneously!

I know I will be criticised for this, as I was over the begger at I think, ' The Mall'.

I would have given, even if it was just a couple of Riyals.

I know I am a soft sod and I perhaps keep getting ripped off. However, you just never know and for the sake of a few Riyals is it worth the guilt of not knowing you could have made a difference?

My thoughts are my own, but I doubt my Mum would agree with some of them.

Davidak89, these are not people in need, just scam artists.

No one should start demanding money off a complete stranger. Does Doha have places for people in need, I.E shelters and what not?