The Ruling on the Zakah of a Debt Owed by a Debtor
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
We move on to a questioner who asks about the zakah of a debt. He says: If I lent my colleague eighty thousand riyals five years ago, and it is still with him, how is it to be paid? May Allah reward you.
Answer:
Yes, its zakah is obligatory because it is your property and wealth, and a lunar year has passed over it. You pay its zakah even if it is in the debtor's liability, unless the debtor is insolvent or delaying, and you do not know whether you will recover it or not. In that case, you pay its zakah when you receive it. However, if it is owed by a solvent person who is willing to pay, you pay its zakah every time a year passes over it. Yes.
We move on to a questioner who asks about the zakah of a debt. He says: If I lent my colleague eighty thousand riyals five years ago, and it is still with him, how is it to be paid? May Allah reward you.
Answer:
Yes, its zakah is obligatory because it is your property and wealth, and a lunar year has passed over it. You pay its zakah even if it is in the debtor's liability, unless the debtor is insolvent or delaying, and you do not know whether you will recover it or not. In that case, you pay its zakah when you receive it. However, if it is owed by a solvent person who is willing to pay, you pay its zakah every time a year passes over it. Yes.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/271 — archive.org (17:12)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.