Obligations of Those Receiving Charity
Question
Almost on every page of Quran, human beings are urged to be charitable and give of what God has provided them with, to their less fortunate fellow beings. There is a great reward for what one gives. Well, this question is about those on the giving end!
My question is what about the people on the receiving end? What happens to them? Are they in debt? Do they have to pay back? Are they free of any obligation? Because I see that mostly people are for grabbing, maybe because there do not seem to be any consequences for grabbing!
Response
There is no obligation on the receiving party. They are not under a debt unless the money was received as a loan, which I understand from your question is not the case. Therefore, they do not have to payback or arrange for a return. They should thank Almighty for having helped them through unexpected and unknown means, try to get close to Him, and pray for the source that helped them.
When one thanks God for having helped them, then one should also try to spend money in ways that are acceptable to God. Similarly, in the process of receiving the money, the receiving party should not employ any incorrect means including deception and deviation from truth, or any other form of dishonesty to show they are eligible for money. If they do not deserve the money or do not have the need for money, then they should try to let the donor know.
If a person is in for wrongful grabbing then they will be held accountable in the Hereafter by God. It is not true that there are no consequences for illegal acts. In this world, people do fool the systems and get away with it. However, the whole purpose of this worldly exercise is to sift the good ones from the bad ones, and in the Hereafter, they will be dealt with fairly. So the donor should try to satisfy within reasonable limits that they are donating to the right cause and the purpose, if the receiver still manages to fool them, then donor gets the reward for their donation.