162 It Is Unlawful To Beg And It Is Forbidden To Give To Him Who Beggeth #147
Categories: NOTESSources: The Kitab-i-aqdas
In a Tablet 'Abdu'l-Baha expounds the meaning of this verse. He states
that mendicancy is forbidden and that giving charity to people who take
up begging as their profession is also prohibited. He further points out
in that same Tablet: The object is to uproot mendicancy altogether.
However, if a person is incapable of earning a living, is stricken by dire
poverty or becometh helpless, then it is incumbent on the wealthy or the
Deputies to provide him with a monthly allowance for his subsistence... By
'Deputies' is meant the representatives of the people, that is to say the
members of the House of Justice.
The prohibition against giving charity to people who beg does not preclude
individuals and Spiritual Assemblies from extending financial assistance
to the poor and needy or from providing them with opportunities to acquire
such skills as would enable them to earn a livelihood (see note 56).
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