Is zakah obligatory on one who has a debt?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner asks: Is zakah obligatory on one who has a debt?
Answer:
Yes, if he has wealth that reaches the nisab and the hawl has passed over it, he pays zakah on it, even if he has a debt. This is because Allah made zakah obligatory on the one who has wealth; He made zakah obligatory on the one who has wealth, and He did not say, "except if he has a debt." And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to send collectors to gather the zakah, and he did not tell them to ask the people of wealth, "Do you have a debt or do you not have a debt?"
So if he has wealth that reaches the nisab and the hawl has passed over it, he pays zakah on it, even if he has debts. This is the correct position. And Allah the Exalted knows best, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The questioner asks: Is zakah obligatory on one who has a debt?
Answer:
Yes, if he has wealth that reaches the nisab and the hawl has passed over it, he pays zakah on it, even if he has a debt. This is because Allah made zakah obligatory on the one who has wealth; He made zakah obligatory on the one who has wealth, and He did not say, "except if he has a debt." And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to send collectors to gather the zakah, and he did not tell them to ask the people of wealth, "Do you have a debt or do you not have a debt?"
So if he has wealth that reaches the nisab and the hawl has passed over it, he pays zakah on it, even if he has debts. This is the correct position. And Allah the Exalted knows best, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل تجب الزكاة على من عليه دين؟ للشيخ الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.