How is the debt of a deceased person repaid when his heirs are not known?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace.
The questioner : Muhammad ibn Salih. Yes, yes, yes. Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : Peace be upon you.
The questioner : I have a question, Shaykh, regarding repaying the debt of a deceased person, or a person who borrowed an amount and did not repay it because he forgot it. Is it permissible to place the amount in one of the mosques or one of the charitable projects with the intention of repaying the debt he owes?
The Shaykh : But the debt of the deceased is given to his heirs. For example, if a person dies and you owe him a debt, you give the debt to his heirs.
The questioner : Well, what if I do not know them, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : If you do not know the heirs, place it in a mosque or give it as charity to a poor person.
The presenter : Yes, may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace.
The questioner : Muhammad ibn Salih. Yes, yes, yes. Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : Peace be upon you.
The questioner : I have a question, Shaykh, regarding repaying the debt of a deceased person, or a person who borrowed an amount and did not repay it because he forgot it. Is it permissible to place the amount in one of the mosques or one of the charitable projects with the intention of repaying the debt he owes?
The Shaykh : But the debt of the deceased is given to his heirs. For example, if a person dies and you owe him a debt, you give the debt to his heirs.
The questioner : Well, what if I do not know them, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : If you do not know the heirs, place it in a mosque or give it as charity to a poor person.
The presenter : Yes, may Allah reward you with good.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 1908- كيف يوفي دين الميت ولا يعرف ورثته؟/سؤال على الهاتف 📞 /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.