Short answer
Asking people for money for yourself is haram if you already have enough for today and can work, and the Prophet ﷺ warned about it strongly. It is allowed in real need, such as after a disaster, under crushing debt or with nothing to eat. Asking for a loan, for your own rights or for charity for others is not the begging Islam condemns.
A person who has a day's food, or who is healthy and able to earn, may not ask people for money for himself, and al-Durr al-Mukhtar says that one who gives to him knowing this is sinful, since it helps him do wrong. Someone in need may ask. Asking for a loan, for what you are owed, or on behalf of others is permissible.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ said that a man who keeps asking people will come on the Day of Judgement with no flesh on his face. He said that whoever asks people for their wealth to increase his own is asking for embers, so let him ask for little or much. And he said the upper hand, the one that gives, is better than the lower hand that takes.
He also set out when asking is allowed. He told Qabisah that asking is lawful for only three: a man who took on a debt to make peace between people, until he pays it; a man whose wealth was wiped out by a disaster, until he gets back on his feet; and a man struck by poverty that respected people in his community confirm, until he has enough to live on.
What is not the blameworthy kind of asking:
- Borrowing with the intention to repay. See Are loans haram?
- Asking for your right, such as unpaid wages, a debt owed to you or your share of an estate.
- Children asking parents, and a wife asking her husband for maintenance.
- Fundraising for others, for a masjid, a sick person or a relief appeal.
- A genuine crowdfunding appeal for medical bills or a disaster.
Allah praises the poor who are too dignified to ask, whom people think are well off (2:273). If you are struggling, ask Allah first, use the help you are entitled to, and look for work: see Dua for a job. If you are eligible for zakat, see Do you have to tell someone it's zakat?
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:273
لِلْفُقَرَآءِ ٱلَّذِينَ أُحْصِرُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ ضَرْبًۭا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يَحْسَبُهُمُ ٱلْجَاهِلُ أَغْنِيَآءَ مِنَ ٱلتَّعَفُّفِ تَعْرِفُهُم بِسِيمَٰهُمْ لَا يَسْـَٔلُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ إِلْحَافًۭا ۗ وَمَا تُنفِقُوا۟ مِنْ خَيْرٍۢ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِهِۦ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٢٧٣﴾
[Charity is] for the poor who have been restricted for the cause of Allah, unable to move about in the land. An ignorant [person] would think them self-sufficient because of their restraint, but you will know them by their [characteristic] sign. They do not ask people persistently [or at all]. And whatever you spend of good - indeed, Allah is Knowing of it.
Allah praises the poor who keep their dignity and do not beg.
Sahih Muslim 1044
Sahih... إن المسألة لا تحل إلا لأحد ثلاثة ...
"Asking is not lawful except for one of three people."
Sets out when asking for money is allowed.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1474
Sahih... ما يزال الرجل يسأل الناس حتى يأتي يوم القيامة ليس في وجهه مزعة لحم ...
"A man keeps asking people until he comes on the Day of Resurrection without a piece of flesh on his face."
Habitual begging without need is a serious sin.
Sahih Muslim 1041
Sahih... من سأل الناس أموالهم تكثرا فإنما يسأل جمرا ...
"Whoever asks people for their wealth to increase his own is only asking for embers."
Asking out of greed rather than need is condemned.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Zakat, Bab al-Masraf. A person who has a day's food, or is healthy and able to earn, may not ask for it, and one who gives to him knowingly is sinful.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.