Zakah on Debts

Question : The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, a man has debts owed to him by others. Is zakah obligatory on him?

Answer : The one who has debts owed to him by others: the debtor is either poor or wealthy. The wealthy debtor is either one who pays or one who delays, making it impossible to demand payment. So how many categories are there? Poor debtors who do not pay and cannot be demanded payment. For the poor, there is no zakah on the debt they owe.
Because he is prohibited by the Shari'ah from demanding it from them, as Allah the Exalted said: So if you have a debt owed by a poor person, even if it remains for ten years, you owe nothing in zakah on it. Even if it is a large amount of money, but if you collect it, the stronger position is that you pay its zakah for the year of collection.
That is, once, even if the debt remains for ten years. The debt owed by a wealthy person, meaning one who pays, whenever you want him to give you the debt, he gives it to you. There is zakah on it every year, but you have the choice: if you wish, you pay its zakah with your wealth, and if you wish, you delay its zakah until you collect it, then you pay its zakah for the time that has passed. And what are the remaining categories?
If it is owed by a wealthy person, but he does not pay and you cannot demand it from him, then its ruling is the ruling of a debt owed by a poor person. There is no zakah on it except after you collect it; you pay its zakah for one year only. Yes.