The Prayer over a Deceased Person Who Owed a Debt

The questioner:
I said: O Shaykh, we have an imam of a mosque in our village.

The Shaykh:
we have.

The questioner:
If the imam of a mosque in a village dies, he does not pray over the deceased until he remains

The Shaykh:
The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not pray over those who had debts in the early days of Islam, in the early days of Islam, because the prayer of the Messenger is an intercession, an intercession for the deceased, and the intercession of the Messenger is accepted, the intercession of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is accepted, so he did not intercede for anyone who had a debt. This is specific to the Messenger. As for us, we intercede, but our intercession may be accepted or it may not be accepted; we are not like the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). When Allah made things easy for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the conquests opened up and spoils of war came to the Messenger, he began to pay off the debts of the destitute debtors and pray over them, he prayed over them. For this reason he said (peace and blessings be upon him): “I am more worthy of the believers than themselves. Whoever leaves behind wealth, it is for his heirs, and whoever leaves behind debts or dependents, they are my responsibility. Pay them off from the public treasury.” So his refraining from the prayer was in the early days of Islam when he had nothing, when there was no public treasury. Also, this is one of the special characteristics of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).