The Ruling on Zakah on Debts and How to Pay It
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Q63: The questioner says: I lent people sums of money, and these loans have been with those people for several years. Is there zakah due on those amounts? Knowing that their financial situation is comfortable, and they are able to return those loans, but due to their circumstances, I have not been able to collect them?
A63: If you have been lenient with them, and they are wealthy and able to pay, and if you demanded it, they would pay you, then zakah is obligatory on you every year, as each year passes; because it is in the ruling of what is in your hand. Your leniency in demanding it from them, when they are not poor, makes zakah obligatory on you. However, if they are unable to pay, or if they are delaying and you cannot obtain your debt from them except by demanding it from the judge, then there is no zakah on it until you receive it and pay zakah on it for one year.
A63: If you have been lenient with them, and they are wealthy and able to pay, and if you demanded it, they would pay you, then zakah is obligatory on you every year, as each year passes; because it is in the ruling of what is in your hand. Your leniency in demanding it from them, when they are not poor, makes zakah obligatory on you. However, if they are unable to pay, or if they are delaying and you cannot obtain your debt from them except by demanding it from the judge, then there is no zakah on it until you receive it and pay zakah on it for one year.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.