STREET BEGGING AND ISLAMIC INJUNCTIONS;

 POSITIVE OR NEGETIVE?

BY:

MUDASSIR ALIYU YUNUSA

mudassiray@gmail.com

    The traumatic behaviour of street begging or otherwise known as ‘Bara or Maula’ is a popular attitude in Nigeria particularly in Northern part of the country. The situation is worrisome because not only adult population are engaged in such distress act but even underage children including those that were just removed from mother’s breastfeeding are equally assembled in a group parading some public places like markets, motor parks, traffic junctions, restaurants and other small booths for selling foods and drinks for the primary purpose of begging which they believed to be legal way for their life sustenance and survival.

    This phenomenon became the order of the day despite the fact that the act suppose to be the last resort and alternative for earning a living, but those engaged in the act are doing it without any feeling of humiliation and dishonoured so much so that they have legalized it to be a standard profession and career for survival. Initially, begging was done by physically or mentally handicap people, but nowadays strong physical and mentally sound people are occupied in such rude and abominable practice which is really a social stigma and indeed unreligious practice. No doubt begging is a downgrading act which leads to the image tarnishing as well as lost of prestige and dignity of any person doing it.

    Religiously, Islam provided good principles, procedures and modalities on how one can earn a living; this is supported and authenticated by the holy Quran with proper interpretation of Hadith of Holy Prophet (PBUH). In addition to this, Islam provides the economic ways that covers the overall individual responsibilities with regard to the way and manner an individual can sustain his/her life effectively and accordingly without breaching the religious order. It is clearly provided, accepted and acknowledged in Islamic economic system that earning a living is only through lawful and legitimate use of available resources in a decent way, also the system doest not accept dependency act by any able but lazy and effortless person on others for livelihood, certainly this is prohibited (Haram).

    Moreso, the principle and concept of labour in Islamic economy provide that all Muslims are enjoined to be self reliant and never be a liability or a parasite on any body except those that are in destitute situations or women and children under the custody of their husbands and parents respectively. However the system recognized any type of job which does not involve any form of indecency, fraud, defile or any dirty acts. It is also accepted and respected in Islam with clear conscience that, it is better for someone to role up his sleeves and undertake any permissible work that will enable the provision of basic life requirements for himself and his dependants than to go for begging. Indeed, it is a great shame and embarrassment for someone who is mentally sound and physically fit, who can at least take an axe and rope, go to the bush, cut down the wood, pile it up and sale to the people but yet deceiving oneself by sitting at the gate of somebody’s house or wandering on the street waiting and looking for someone to give him/her something that will not be enough for him/her cater for his daily needs.

    The participants in this foolish act have killed their heart even before the removal of the soul out of their body in such a way that they can not do any vital but rigorous things for themselves and they also forced themselves to believe in absolute dependency condition by saying a statement that signifies total deficiency of mindset, which is “Allah Baku Mu Samu ”(may God give those that can give us ).

    Many people are linking the act of begging (Bara) to Islam, and to be honest the act does not in anyway related to Islam. In reality begging is neither a profession nor a career in Islam, but rather a dubious act that is contrary to the provision of Quran and Hadith, because the Quran warned people not to follow the shaytan (devil spirit) especially in our struggle to survival. It is revealed in one verse of the holy Quran as “O you, who believe, eat from good and lawful things we have provided the earth with for you and never follow the footsteps of the devil spirit (Shaytan), verily he (devil) is a plain enemy to you.” (Q2:176)

     Therefore, we need to look at this verse carefully and understand its teachings. The verse enjoined the believers to search and use up the good and legitimate wealth of God bestowed on earth and at the same time the verse informed the Muslims not to approach the way followed by Shaytan. Hence anything which is not good in Islam have the devil in the forefront of it including the unwise act of begging, as such Bara is a devil act and is Haram in Islam.

     The question arises on adult begging is that despite strong religious warning against it, what makes such people to disregard the warning and engage in it? The answers that will be generally accepted are lack of strong heart, ignorance as well as laziness for the reason that they don’t want to suffer in life which are not genuine reasons from all angle. Indeed it is not a genuine business, so they need to be alert over this dubious act in order to desist from it.

    For the child begging, many people are attributing it to the failure of parents and government. Firstly parents need to know the responsibilities attached to them in taking care of their young ones like feeding, clothing, sheltering, education and upbringing them with good qualities and moral fibre and competence. They need to comprehend the teaching of one Hadith of Prophet (PBUH) that is saying “You are all rearers and you must give account for what you are assigned to rear” here it is a mandate for parents to take care of their children with proper disposition, and they should give extra care on their children in order to rescue themselves and the children away from the divine wrath and punishment in the day of judgement. So, for this reason, I want to seize this opportunity to counsel parents over the issue of child begging which is an abuse to them, as we know we have so many craft work that will keep people busy during dry season like weaving, dyeing, sewing, carpentry etc and those art and craft works contributed immensely toward generating income and employment especially in Northern Nigeria. Therefore parents should primarily enrol their children in schools and send them to places where they (children) can learn such kind of work after school hours instead of sending them to urban areas in search of education under tentative and worst condition of begging and washing plates in restaurants. Parent should try to avert their children from the danger of becoming market porters, housemaids, political watchdogs etc in urban areas which is completely against the teaching of Islam.

    Secondly, Government should provide rural infrastructures that will enable the rural dwellers to enjoy their life in their own town rather than engaging in that habit of sending their children to cities which bring rural – urban drift that causes urban congestion which increase social pressures in the cities. With these little advices given to both parents and government no doubt the traumatic behaviour of begging will be reduced or wiped out completely.

MUDASSIR write from NTA Zonal Network Centre Maiduguri.