Is writing down a debt obligatory?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
And in His saying:[Al-Baqarah 2:282] Is writing obligatory in this matter?
Answer:
No, the command here is for guidance, not for obligation. It is for guidance, not obligation, because it is a form of documentation. If people trust one another and the creditor trusts the debtor, writing is not required. This is a matter of guidance, like taking a pledge or taking a guarantor; these are merely forms of documentation. Yes.
And in His saying:
O you who have believed, when you contract a debt for a specified term, write it down.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا تَدَايَنتُم بِدَيْنٍ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى فَاكْتُبُوهُAnswer:
No, the command here is for guidance, not for obligation. It is for guidance, not obligation, because it is a form of documentation. If people trust one another and the creditor trusts the debtor, writing is not required. This is a matter of guidance, like taking a pledge or taking a guarantor; these are merely forms of documentation. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل كتابة الدَّين واجبة؟ لمعالي الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.