His second question states: I lent a person a sum of money and did not obtain a document from him proving this debt in his liability, and it remained with him for a long period.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The second question states: I lent a person a sum of money and did not obtain a document from him proving this debt in his liability, and it remained with him for a long period. When I demanded it from him, he denied it and refused to give it to me. Is it permissible for me to secretly take from his wealth an amount equal to what he owes me, without his knowledge? And does this fall under the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted [Al-Baqarah 2:194] And if not, what is the meaning of the verse?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for you to secretly take anything from his wealth for this claim. Rather, what is obligatory for you, if you wish to prove your right, is to bear witness against your partner. So if he denies it, and you have evidence, then if you do not have evidence and he denies it, the ruling in the Shari'ah is that the oath is directed to him, and he swears that he owes you nothing in his liability. At that point, he is absolved in appearance according to the appearance before the judge, and Allah will hold him accountable for the hidden reality on the Day of Resurrection if he was a liar. Then, may Allah protect us, he will meet Allah while He is angry with him, as established by the hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the one who swears a false oath to cut off the wealth of a Muslim man; he will meet Allah while He is angry with him. However, in appearance, he has been absolved. It is not permissible for you to secretly take anything from his wealth, because you would be considered a traitor or a transgressor at that time. As for the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:194] this is regarding rights from which one who denies them is not absolved. As for this man, he is absolved from it by his denial and the direction of the oath to him. At that point, if he swears, you have no right over him in this world. As for the Hereafter, you have the right. Then, the noble verse [Al-Baqarah 2:194] is clear regarding manifest transgression. As for this, there is no manifest transgression because the matter is between you and him, so we cannot empower you over his wealth while the Shari'ah has ruled that he is absolved in appearance. Yes.
So whoever has assaulted you, then assault him in the same way that he has assaulted you
فمن اعتدى عليكم فاعتدوا عليه بمثل ما اعتدى عليكمThe Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for you to secretly take anything from his wealth for this claim. Rather, what is obligatory for you, if you wish to prove your right, is to bear witness against your partner. So if he denies it, and you have evidence, then if you do not have evidence and he denies it, the ruling in the Shari'ah is that the oath is directed to him, and he swears that he owes you nothing in his liability. At that point, he is absolved in appearance according to the appearance before the judge, and Allah will hold him accountable for the hidden reality on the Day of Resurrection if he was a liar. Then, may Allah protect us, he will meet Allah while He is angry with him, as established by the hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the one who swears a false oath to cut off the wealth of a Muslim man; he will meet Allah while He is angry with him. However, in appearance, he has been absolved. It is not permissible for you to secretly take anything from his wealth, because you would be considered a traitor or a transgressor at that time. As for the saying of Allah the Exalted: