The ruling on one who has money and debts: Is zakah obligatory on him?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : All right, Shaykh, the second question: If a person has a sum of money and wants to pay its zakah, but he has debts, and these debts may reduce the nisab (minimum threshold for zakah) of his money—he has money in his hand exceeding the nisab, but he has debts—does he deduct these debts from the money he has, or does he pay zakah?
The Shaykh : Yes, he does not deduct them from the money. Rather, he must pay zakah on the money in his possession, and he does not look at the debts at all.
The questioner : But, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : That zakah is in the money, as He the Exalted said:[Al-Ma'arij 70:24-25] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The questioner : But tell me, Shaykh, is this money for others?
The Shaykh : It is not for others, and no.
The questioner : No, they are debts on him, Shaykh; he borrowed them from others.
The Shaykh : Even the debts are his, and for this reason he disposes of it as he wishes.
The questioner : All right, Shaykh, will there not be repetition if the creditors also pay zakah on the debts?
The Shaykh : Even if you do, it is necessary. Because the remembrance (zakat) here is different in direction. For the people of the debts, the zakah is in the debts, not in the specific items. And for the owner of the money, the zakah is in the specific item of his money.
The Shaykh : Yes, he does not deduct them from the money. Rather, he must pay zakah on the money in his possession, and he does not look at the debts at all.
The questioner : But, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : That zakah is in the money, as He the Exalted said:
(24) And those within whose wealth is a known right (25) For the petitioner and the deprived -
وَالَّذِينَ فِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ حَقٌّ مَّعْلُومٌ لِّلسَّائِلِ وَالْمَحْرُومِ(peace and blessings be upon him) to Mu'adh ibn Jabal, when he sent him to Yemen: "Inform them that Allah has made obligatory upon them a charity in their wealth"
صلى الله عليه وسلم لمعاذ بن جبل وقد بعثه إلى اليمن أعلمهم أن الله فرض عليهم صدقة في أموالهمThe questioner : But tell me, Shaykh, is this money for others?
The Shaykh : It is not for others, and no.
The questioner : No, they are debts on him, Shaykh; he borrowed them from others.
The Shaykh : Even the debts are his, and for this reason he disposes of it as he wishes.
The questioner : All right, Shaykh, will there not be repetition if the creditors also pay zakah on the debts?
The Shaykh : Even if you do, it is necessary. Because the remembrance (zakat) here is different in direction. For the people of the debts, the zakah is in the debts, not in the specific items. And for the owner of the money, the zakah is in the specific item of his money.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 819- حكم من عنده مال وعليه ديون هل عليه زكاة؟/سؤال على الهاتف 📞 /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.