What is the ruling on zakah and debt for a deceased person?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Well, may I ask a question, O our Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Yes, you may.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.
The questioner : What is it... O our Shaykh, regarding debt? If a person has a debt, meaning... a valuable item, can one consider it as part of his zakah, O our Shaykh?
The Shaykh : If, as the jurists express it, the person is alive, then it is permissible on the condition that he says to the debtor, "I have such and such with you. If you wish, consider it as part of my zakah." If the debtor says, "I accept," then it is permissible; otherwise, it is not.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : As for if the debtor is dead, it is not permissible to consider it as part of his zakah.
The questioner : Yes, Abu Khalid, our Shaykh, sends you his greetings.
The Shaykh : And greetings to him as well. We passed by your area today with Abu 'Abdullah, and we said to him, "Where is Abu Khalid? We have not seen him." So I say: And greetings to you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O our Shaykh, and may Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : And may He reward you.
The Shaykh : Yes, you may.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.
The questioner : What is it... O our Shaykh, regarding debt? If a person has a debt, meaning... a valuable item, can one consider it as part of his zakah, O our Shaykh?
The Shaykh : If, as the jurists express it, the person is alive, then it is permissible on the condition that he says to the debtor, "I have such and such with you. If you wish, consider it as part of my zakah." If the debtor says, "I accept," then it is permissible; otherwise, it is not.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : As for if the debtor is dead, it is not permissible to consider it as part of his zakah.
The questioner : Yes, Abu Khalid, our Shaykh, sends you his greetings.
The Shaykh : And greetings to him as well. We passed by your area today with Abu 'Abdullah, and we said to him, "Where is Abu Khalid? We have not seen him." So I say: And greetings to you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O our Shaykh, and may Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : And may He reward you.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.