Zakah on wealth for one who has a debt
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. If a person has a debt, does he pay zakah on his wealth or pay off his debt, since the amount is not sufficient for both?
Answer:
If the lunar year has passed, he pays zakah on what he has, even if he has a debt. If he pays off his debt before the completion of the lunar year and his wealth falls below the nisab, then he owes no zakah, provided he paid it off before the year was complete. However, if the lunar year is completed, then zakah becomes obligatory. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. If a person has a debt, does he pay zakah on his wealth or pay off his debt, since the amount is not sufficient for both?
Answer:
If the lunar year has passed, he pays zakah on what he has, even if he has a debt. If he pays off his debt before the completion of the lunar year and his wealth falls below the nisab, then he owes no zakah, provided he paid it off before the year was complete. However, if the lunar year is completed, then zakah becomes obligatory. Yes.
Source
شرح إغاثة اللهفان من مصائد الشيطان لابن القيم، بداية من الوجه السابع : أن اعتماد العبد على المخلوق وتوكله عليه يوجب له الضرر من جهته هو ولا بد — islamhouse.com (1:00:42)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.