Is it permissible for a man to give charity to his relatives when he has debts and owes zakah?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : That is, nowadays most trade among major merchants is conducted through debt, so a person is both a creditor and a debtor at the same time. He wants to fulfill many obligations, such as Hajj, paying zakah, and giving charity to relatives, while at the same time being in debt.
The Shaykh : Paying zakah is obligatory.
The questioner : And giving charity to your relatives or performing Hajj.
The Shaykh : He is not required to give charity to his relatives, nor is he required to perform Hajj. He should not perform Hajj unless the debt he is owed is greater than the debt he owes, and he is also confident that he will be paid. This matter is more difficult.
The questioner : From this perspective, I am a creditor and a debtor; I have money with people, and they have money owed to me, so I hope to be repaid when my money comes in, and so on.
The Shaykh : If he is repaid, he gives charity, praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : Paying zakah is obligatory.
The questioner : And giving charity to your relatives or performing Hajj.
The Shaykh : He is not required to give charity to his relatives, nor is he required to perform Hajj. He should not perform Hajj unless the debt he is owed is greater than the debt he owes, and he is also confident that he will be paid. This matter is more difficult.
The questioner : From this perspective, I am a creditor and a debtor; I have money with people, and they have money owed to me, so I hope to be repaid when my money comes in, and so on.
The Shaykh : If he is repaid, he gives charity, praise be to Allah.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 1335 - 4600 هل للرجل أن يتصدق على رحمه وعليه ديون وعليه زكاة؟ ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.