Among the best forms of dutifulness to parents is paying off the father's debt

The questioner : The questioner says: My father was extravagant in spending money, and now he has a lot of debts. He says: I want to give charity on my own behalf, so should I pay off his debt, knowing that my mother refuses to let me do so?

The Shaykh : She refuses to pay off her husband's debt, and this is the mother? Did she divorce him? Perhaps yes. In any case, paying off the father's debt is among the best deeds because it is dutifulness to parents and charity. However, if the father does not manage money well, meaning that if you pay his debt today he will go borrow again tomorrow, because some people are reckless, then you should pay his debt but not tell him. Instead, you should write a document between the creditors and his father stating that his debt has been paid, but you do not tell him. If you instruct the creditors to say to the father from time to time, "So-and-so, where is our right?" to make him think that he has not paid it, so that he fears debt and extravagance in his dealings, that would be good. If the creditor asks this debtor, whose debt was paid for him, "Where is my debt?" is this question valid or not?
It is valid, my brothers, because his answer is that he said, "My son paid it." So the question is valid, and it is not said that he is lying. But in reality, it is a question that implies the meaning of concealment, namely that the debt has not been paid yet. The summary is that among the best forms of dutifulness is for the son to pay off his father's debt. But if he fears his father's poor management, he should not let him know that he paid it. He should instruct the creditors to say to him from time to time, "Where is the debt?" Yes. Your account.