How is the zakah of a commercial library calculated when it has debts owed to it and debts owed by it?

The questioner : He wanted to pay the zakah, so he took an inventory of the library and found that the value of what he inventoried was one hundred thousand riyals. However, he has debts owed to the library worth ten thousand, and the library has debts owed by it of fifty thousand riyals. How does he calculate the zakah, given that the lunar year has not passed for the debts owed to the library?

The Shaykh : This library currently has three things: books in stock, debts in the hands of people, and debts on the library. The books in stock are worth, as the questioner says, one hundred thousand. So it is obligatory for him to pay zakah on one hundred thousand. In any case. What is the zakah on one hundred thousand? Two and a half thousand, meaning two thousand five hundred. He pays it in any case. The debts in the hands of people, the questioner says, are fifty thousand.

The questioner : No, the debts in the hands of people are ten thousand, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Ten thousand. Yes, ten thousand.

The questioner : And on the library, fifty. Yes. And on the library.

The Shaykh : On his library, five or fifty?

The questioner : You can.

The Shaykh : Fifty, okay. The debts in the hands of people are ten thousand riyals. We say that if these debts are owed by poor people, there is no zakah on them. Even if they remain for a hundred years, there is no zakah on them, because a debt owed by a poor person is not within reach to be collected. It is not within reach, either in reality or in the Shari'ah?
Yes? No, it is not permissible for him to demand it in the Shari'ah. As for in reality, some people, may Allah protect us, some of the people of religion who have debts owed by poor people take them to the authorities and have them imprisoned. It is as if this poor debtor, if he is imprisoned, will take dirhams from the prison walls and hand them to his creditor. Do you think that this prisoner, who is imprisoned and unable to pay, can take dirhams from the prison to hand to his creditor? Do you think so? This oppressive creditor who took him to the competent authorities and had him imprisoned, does he know this or not? He knows that this poor man will not get the dirhams in prison. Rather, it is better for him to be free, go out, beg from people, and seek help from people, than to remain in this prison. So I say from this place that the creditors who take poor people to the rulers to have them imprisoned for not paying their debts are transgressors, oppressors, and sinners. It is feared that Allah will send upon them or their descendants someone who will inflict upon them a bad punishment, doing to them what they did to this oppressed prisoner. And Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: . And these greedy creditors are as if they say, "If he is in difficulty, let him be sent to prison," which is the opposite of what Allah commanded, may Allah protect us. Satan says to these oppressive creditors, "Tell him to borrow and pay you." Yes, and sometimes he says, "We lend to him and he pays us." And all of this is forbidden. It is not permissible for a person who knows that his debtor is poor to demand it from him. Nor is it permissible for him to say, "Give me my debt," while he knows that he is poor, because it puts him in a difficult position. And the Exalted Allah says: until Allah makes it easy for him. So we say now to the owner of the library: the debt you have with people, if it is owed by poor people, there is nothing on it. And if it is owed by rich people, there is zakah on it. But you have a choice: if you wish, you pay its zakah with your wealth, and if you wish, when you collect it, you pay its zakah for the time that has passed. One thing remains for us.

The questioner : The debts on the library.

The Shaykh : The debts on the library do not prevent the obligation of zakah on the zakatable wealth in the library. That is, the debt does not prevent the obligation of zakah; rather, the debt is deducted in any case. So if we suppose that a man has fifty thousand and owes fifty thousand, it is obligatory for him to pay zakah on the fifty thousand he has. Yes.

The questioner : Honorable Shaykh.

The Shaykh : How do you mean, my scope?

The questioner : May Allah love you. And after, peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.

The Shaykh : The oppressor says, "May Allah love you."

The questioner : There is nothing in it, O Shaykh. May Allah love you. Without the hamza.

The Shaykh : May Allah love you. Look, is there a hamza in it or not? May Allah make it so.

The questioner : There is a hamza in it, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Okay, good, if Allah wills. We ask Allah to accept his supplication.

The questioner : O Allah, amen.