Taking from Zakah to Pay Off a Debt
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Question:
He says: He has a salary, and he has debts amounting to four hundred thousand, which he is paying off in installments, and nothing remains of his salary except twenty percent. Is he allowed to take from the zakah to pay off this debt?
Answer:
Yes, if he has a debt that he cannot pay off, and he is being demanded to pay it, and he is unable to make the payment, then he may take from the zakah, because this falls under the category of those in debt. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, mentioned in the categories of zakah recipients: "and for those in debt." The one in debt is of two types: the one in debt for himself, who is the insolvent debtor, and the one in debt for others, who is the one who reconciles between people and takes on a burden for the sake of reconciliation; this is the one in debt for others. As for the debtor, he is in debt for himself. If the debts are due and he is being demanded to pay them, then he may take from the zakah. However, if the debts are deferred, and a certain amount is taken from his salary every month, then he does not need to take from the zakah, because the creditor is not demanding the entire debt from him, but rather takes from his salary. Unless the remaining salary is not sufficient for his children and his family, in which case he takes, because he is poor. If the remainder of the salary is not sufficient for his basic needs, then he is poor and takes due to his poverty. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
He says: He has a salary, and he has debts amounting to four hundred thousand, which he is paying off in installments, and nothing remains of his salary except twenty percent. Is he allowed to take from the zakah to pay off this debt?
Answer:
Yes, if he has a debt that he cannot pay off, and he is being demanded to pay it, and he is unable to make the payment, then he may take from the zakah, because this falls under the category of those in debt. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, mentioned in the categories of zakah recipients: "and for those in debt." The one in debt is of two types: the one in debt for himself, who is the insolvent debtor, and the one in debt for others, who is the one who reconciles between people and takes on a burden for the sake of reconciliation; this is the one in debt for others. As for the debtor, he is in debt for himself. If the debts are due and he is being demanded to pay them, then he may take from the zakah. However, if the debts are deferred, and a certain amount is taken from his salary every month, then he does not need to take from the zakah, because the creditor is not demanding the entire debt from him, but rather takes from his salary. Unless the remaining salary is not sufficient for his children and his family, in which case he takes, because he is poor. If the remainder of the salary is not sufficient for his basic needs, then he is poor and takes due to his poverty. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، محاضرات في العقيدة والدعوة-031-الشتاء وما فيه من النعم|صالح الفوزان|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (54:59)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.