A man has many debts and a vow; which takes precedence?
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The questioner : A man has many debts and a vow; which one takes precedence first?
The Shaykh : If a person dies and has debts owed to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, such as a vow, an expiation, or zakah, and debts owed to people, then the stronger position in this matter is to distribute the estate proportionally between the debts owed to Allah the Mighty and Majestic and those owed to people. The method of proportional distribution is to calculate the total amount of his debt, then determine the ratio of the money he left behind to that debt. If the ratio of the money he left to the debts is one-half, we give each creditor half of his debt. If the ratio is one-quarter, we give each creditor a quarter of his debt. If the ratio is two-thirds, we give each creditor two-thirds of his debt, and so on. However, if this occurs during his lifetime and these debts conflict, he should also distribute what he has among them proportionally, except for any debt whose obligation has already taken precedence.
The Shaykh : If a person dies and has debts owed to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, such as a vow, an expiation, or zakah, and debts owed to people, then the stronger position in this matter is to distribute the estate proportionally between the debts owed to Allah the Mighty and Majestic and those owed to people. The method of proportional distribution is to calculate the total amount of his debt, then determine the ratio of the money he left behind to that debt. If the ratio of the money he left to the debts is one-half, we give each creditor half of his debt. If the ratio is one-quarter, we give each creditor a quarter of his debt. If the ratio is two-thirds, we give each creditor two-thirds of his debt, and so on. However, if this occurs during his lifetime and these debts conflict, he should also distribute what he has among them proportionally, except for any debt whose obligation has already taken precedence.