The zakah on a debt whose repayment has been delayed
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
This is a person who says: I lent a person a sum of money, and it remained with him for more than five years, and then he returned it. Do I have to pay its zakah for the past years? And is it permissible for me to give him from the zakah?
Answer:
If the person is unable to pay and you do not know whether he will return it or not, and then Allah makes it easy for him and he brings it back, you are not required to pay zakah for the past years; rather, you pay zakah on it for one year after you receive it. However, if he is wealthy and able to pay, but you did not demand it and left it, while he is wealthy and able to pay, then you are required to pay its zakah for every year. It is permissible to give him from the zakah if he is eligible, but do not make the debt he owes a substitute for the zakah, or any part of the debt a substitute for the zakah. You must give him and pay him the zakah. Yes.
This is a person who says: I lent a person a sum of money, and it remained with him for more than five years, and then he returned it. Do I have to pay its zakah for the past years? And is it permissible for me to give him from the zakah?
Answer:
If the person is unable to pay and you do not know whether he will return it or not, and then Allah makes it easy for him and he brings it back, you are not required to pay zakah for the past years; rather, you pay zakah on it for one year after you receive it. However, if he is wealthy and able to pay, but you did not demand it and left it, while he is wealthy and able to pay, then you are required to pay its zakah for every year. It is permissible to give him from the zakah if he is eligible, but do not make the debt he owes a substitute for the zakah, or any part of the debt a substitute for the zakah. You must give him and pay him the zakah. Yes.
Source
لقاء مفتوح [الزلفي] — alfawzan.live (1:14:11)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.