The Ruling on the Zakah of a Debt Owed by One Who Is Unable to Pay or Who Delays Payment
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
A person lent his brother a sum of money, fifteen thousand riyals. Two full lunar years have passed, and he has not repaid that money. Now he is returning the amount, but in monthly installments over thirty months, as he is unable to pay the full amount at once. Is he required to pay zakah on that amount during the passage of the two years? And is he required to pay zakah if the amount is repaid in monthly installments?
Answer:
If the borrower is unable to pay or is delaying payment, there is no zakah on the owner of the money until he receives it. If you have a debt due from a person who is unable to pay, whether the debt is large or small, if it is due from someone who is unable to pay or is delaying you and causing you harm, you do not have to pay zakah until you receive it. Once you receive the amount, you start a new lunar year with it, and so on; every time you receive a portion of it, you start a new lunar year with that portion and pay zakah on it at the rate of one-quarter of a tenth. You are required to pay zakah on it as long as it is with him, unless he is wealthy and willing to pay, not delaying; if you ask for it, he gives it to you, then you must pay zakah on it, even if it is with him like a trust, as if it were in a box.
If it is with a wealthy person who is willing to pay and not delaying, and it is you who are the one delaying in asking for it and not taking it from him, then you must pay zakah on it, and every time the lunar year passes, you pay zakah on it, even if it is with him like a box. But if he is unable to pay, or not unable to pay but he is delaying and playing games with you, not giving you your right, then every time you receive a portion, you pay zakah on it. Every time you receive a thousand, or whatever amount, yes, you pay one-quarter of a tenth on it, yes. It is reported in a narration that if two Muslims meet with their swords, the killer... pays zakah when the lunar year passes over it, meaning... yes, that is right, meaning even if they do not reach the nisab. Yes, because he has the nisab, yes, because he has the nisab.
A person lent his brother a sum of money, fifteen thousand riyals. Two full lunar years have passed, and he has not repaid that money. Now he is returning the amount, but in monthly installments over thirty months, as he is unable to pay the full amount at once. Is he required to pay zakah on that amount during the passage of the two years? And is he required to pay zakah if the amount is repaid in monthly installments?
Answer:
If the borrower is unable to pay or is delaying payment, there is no zakah on the owner of the money until he receives it. If you have a debt due from a person who is unable to pay, whether the debt is large or small, if it is due from someone who is unable to pay or is delaying you and causing you harm, you do not have to pay zakah until you receive it. Once you receive the amount, you start a new lunar year with it, and so on; every time you receive a portion of it, you start a new lunar year with that portion and pay zakah on it at the rate of one-quarter of a tenth. You are required to pay zakah on it as long as it is with him, unless he is wealthy and willing to pay, not delaying; if you ask for it, he gives it to you, then you must pay zakah on it, even if it is with him like a trust, as if it were in a box.
If it is with a wealthy person who is willing to pay and not delaying, and it is you who are the one delaying in asking for it and not taking it from him, then you must pay zakah on it, and every time the lunar year passes, you pay zakah on it, even if it is with him like a box. But if he is unable to pay, or not unable to pay but he is delaying and playing games with you, not giving you your right, then every time you receive a portion, you pay zakah on it. Every time you receive a thousand, or whatever amount, yes, you pay one-quarter of a tenth on it, yes. It is reported in a narration that if two Muslims meet with their swords, the killer... pays zakah when the lunar year passes over it, meaning... yes, that is right, meaning even if they do not reach the nisab. Yes, because he has the nisab, yes, because he has the nisab.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ ابن باز Alsheikh Binbaz»، 122 هل تجب إخراج الزكاة عن المبالغ الدائنة التي يرجعها من استدانها بالتقسيط؟ للإمام ابن باز — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.