The Impact of Religion on the Obligation of Zakah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Does debt prevent zakah in the same way that shirk (associating partners with Allah) does?
The Shaykh:
The correct view is that it does not prevent it. One pays the zakah, and Allah will repay the debt, if He wills.
The questioner:
And as for one who compares debt with zakah.
The Shaykh:
First, it is such that one’s wealth is not considered sufficient, meaning, if the debt is such that one’s wealth is not sufficient, he is not considered wealthy. However, the correct view is that it does not prevent it; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not ask about it. He ordered the collectors to take the zakah from the wealth, and they did not ask whether they had debt or not.
Another questioner:
May Allah forgive you.
The Shaykh:
This is the correct view. If he has sheep or camels or goats, he pays the zakah and it is not invalidated, whether he has debt or not. But if he pays the debt before the zakah becomes obligatory, there is no harm. If he pays the debt before the lunar year (hawl) completes, he pays zakah on the remainder. Yes.
Another questioner:
Indeed, may Allah bless you.
Does debt prevent zakah in the same way that shirk (associating partners with Allah) does?
The Shaykh:
The correct view is that it does not prevent it. One pays the zakah, and Allah will repay the debt, if He wills.
The questioner:
And as for one who compares debt with zakah.
The Shaykh:
First, it is such that one’s wealth is not considered sufficient, meaning, if the debt is such that one’s wealth is not sufficient, he is not considered wealthy. However, the correct view is that it does not prevent it; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not ask about it. He ordered the collectors to take the zakah from the wealth, and they did not ask whether they had debt or not.
Another questioner:
May Allah forgive you.
The Shaykh:
This is the correct view. If he has sheep or camels or goats, he pays the zakah and it is not invalidated, whether he has debt or not. But if he pays the debt before the zakah becomes obligatory, there is no harm. If he pays the debt before the lunar year (hawl) completes, he pays zakah on the remainder. Yes.
Another questioner:
Indeed, may Allah bless you.
Source
صحيح البخاري (الشرح الثاني) — binbaz.org.sa (31:27)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.