If one lends to another for a specific term, is he entitled to demand repayment before the term expires?
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Question : And so it is with the loaned item itself.
Answer : It is obligatory for you to fulfill the debt as soon as you are able to do so. Is a loan subject to early demand? There are two opinions among the scholars. Some say that a loan is not subject to early demand. So if I lent you ten thousand for a year, I have the right to demand it from you immediately.
Because a loan is not subject to deferral, and stipulating a deferral is a defective condition, as it contradicts the implication of the contract, since the implication of the contract in their view is immediate due-ness. However, this opinion is weak, and the correct view is that a loan is deferred by the stipulated deferral, and that the borrower is bound by the deferred term. If the borrower says to the lender, "I have nothing now, and I do not expect any money to come to me until after a year," and he says, "I have lent you this for a year," then the correct view is that it is deferred and that he is bound by the deferred term. As for the school of thought, they say that if I said, "Take this as a deferred loan for a year," you have the right to demand it from him immediately. There is no doubt that this is a weak opinion, contrary to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Ma'idah 5:1] And because the borrower may be harmed; for example, he might borrow a hundred thousand to buy a house for residence, and then the next day someone comes and says, "Give me the hundred thousand I gave you." If he refuses, he is imprisoned, or he is complained about to the judge and imprisoned. Therefore, the important point is that the correct loan is one that is deferred.
Answer : It is obligatory for you to fulfill the debt as soon as you are able to do so. Is a loan subject to early demand? There are two opinions among the scholars. Some say that a loan is not subject to early demand. So if I lent you ten thousand for a year, I have the right to demand it from you immediately.
Because a loan is not subject to deferral, and stipulating a deferral is a defective condition, as it contradicts the implication of the contract, since the implication of the contract in their view is immediate due-ness. However, this opinion is weak, and the correct view is that a loan is deferred by the stipulated deferral, and that the borrower is bound by the deferred term. If the borrower says to the lender, "I have nothing now, and I do not expect any money to come to me until after a year," and he says, "I have lent you this for a year," then the correct view is that it is deferred and that he is bound by the deferred term. As for the school of thought, they say that if I said, "Take this as a deferred loan for a year," you have the right to demand it from him immediately. There is no doubt that this is a weak opinion, contrary to the saying of Allah the Exalted:
O you who have believed, fulfill [all] contracts.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَوْفُوا بِالْعُقُودِ
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 82- من أقرض غيره إلى أجل، هل له المطالبة قبل حلول الأجل؟ - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
