Is the creditor required to pay the zakah on his money that is with the debtor, and if the debtor does not spend that money and a lunar year passes over it, is the zakah due on him, or on only one of them?
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The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Please go ahead.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : How?
The Shaykh: That is, a man gave a loan to a person named Zayd. Is there zakah on this debt for the creditor or not? The answer is that, according to the jurists, the debt has two forms, and these are two real forms in practice. This is part of the precision of the science of Islamic jurisprudence. They call one a "living debt" and the other a "dead debt." I think the intended meaning of their words is clear. A living debt is a debt you lent to a person who is not unable to repay it, meaning you have not lost hope in his repayment. As for a dead debt, it is the one from which you have lost hope of recovering it by any means. If the debt is of the first type—bring a small child to the councilThe Shaykh -
Welcome, how many days old is he?
The questioner: Twenty-one days?
The Shaykh: And you named him Yusuf.
The questioner: Yes, Yusuf.
The Shaykh: I seek protection for you with the perfect words of Allah from every Shaytan, harmful creature, and evil eye. May Allah make him grow up well
The questioner : May Allah bless you
The Shaykh: And make him a source of joy for his parents
The questioner : May Allah bless you
The Shaykh: If Allah wills. So, if the debt is of the first category, meaning a living debt, it is obligatory for the creditor to pay its zakah
The questioner: A living debt
The Shaykh: Yes. But if it is a dead debt, he does not pay zakah on it unless Allah revives it, meaning this person had lost hope in his repayment, but Allah the Mighty and Majestic inspired him and he repaid the debt. Do you want to see for every year that he was delinquent...
The questioner: And he pays two and a half percent?
The Shaykh: Yes, two and a half percent.
The questioner: Professor, excuse me, regarding the previous question: if this debt is one thousand dinars in the hand of the debtor and a lunar year passes over it, does the debtor pay zakah on it, given that it is a living debt, and the circumstances of the borrowing did not require him to keep it for a full year? Does he pay it, and if he pays it, would he be paying zakah twice?
The Shaykh: Yes, that is correct. This question came up yesterday or the day before yesterday
The questioner: Yesterday
The Shaykh: The day before yesterday, and we spoke in detail. We say that the debtor is supposed to use the money he borrowed from the creditor to meet his needs. If he does not do so for one reason or another, as they say today, and the money remains with him as a hoard, and a lunar year passes over it, it is obligatory for both the creditor and the debtor to pay their zakah. As for the creditor, it is clear. As for the debtor, because he has become a hoarder of the money, and a lunar year has passed over it, it is obligatory for him to pay the zakah. The wisdom behind this is so that the debtor does not get into trouble by keeping the money he borrowed, which would then be subject to zakah, while he needs to spend it to meet his necessities. So, in this case, if a lunar year passes over the money in the hands of the debtor, it is necessary to pay the zakah.
The questioner: Another question on the topic
The Shaykh: Please, go ahead
The questioner: Those who lend money do not actually own the money; it is not in their hands, it is with the debtor. So how does he pay zakah on money that is actually not in his hands?
The Shaykh: Beautiful. Perhaps you know, my brother, that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: , , meaning that the one who lends to his Muslim brother two dirhams is like one who gave charity with two dirhams. This is a strong encouragement for Muslims to help their brothers by lending to them, because they have a great reward. If one lends a person two hundred dinars, it is as if he gave charity with one hundred dinars. Here we move to an issue that Muslims have also been afflicted with. Look at the opportunity that Allah the Exalted has created for the wealthy Muslims; how great their reward and recompense will be with the Lord of the Worlds if they abolish installment sales and sell for cash. If one lends to his Muslim brother four thousand dinars, the price of a car, it is as if he gave charity with two thousand. So, my intention with this hadith is to remind the brotherThe questioner : that this creditor has not lost out when the money temporarily left his possession; rather, this is a double profit. First, the material profit that will return to him, and second, the spiritual profit that he has already achieved simply by lending this money to his Muslim brother.
The questioner: A final question
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: As far as I know, there is no explicit text from Allah or the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanding the obligation of zakah on one who has lent a debt. An explicit text regarding one who has lent?
The Shaykh: No, there is no explicit text.
The questioner: Why is this issue not .
The Shaykh: We have already mentioned the answer to you, and we said that he has not lost; this is a profit. So, the question returns in another way: what is more profitable for this Muslim, that the debt remains with him, or with his Muslim brother?
The questioner: With his Muslim brother.
The Shaykh: Absolutely more profitable. And be careful, be careful in your answer. Yes. Which is more profitable for this Muslim, that he holds onto this loan in his safe, or that it temporarily leaves his possession to his brother who needs it? Which is more profitable for him?
The questioner: That he gives it to his brother.
The Shaykh: But you have not answered; you answered in a way that someone tries to get out of the problem, and that is not our way.
Al-Halabi: He wanted that.
The Shaykh: No, he did not want that. How did he want that?
Al-Halabi: I mean, he wanted to escape the problem.
The Shaykh: That is what I am saying. But without a doubt, this person who lent two hundred dinars to his Muslim brother, this is more profitable for him in both religion and worldly life, religion and worldly life. Therefore, we distinguished between a living debt and a dead debt. If his debt dies, he loses the material aspect, but the profit has been achieved for him: the otherworldly reward, the otherworldly profit. But if the money returns to him, he has profited twice: the immediate profit and the deferred profit. And if this point we are drawing attention to at the end is correct, meaning the answer is that it is more profitable for him to lend to his companion, then there is an argument by a fortiori (qiyas awla), like the saying of Allah the Exalted: If he strikes him with a hand, that is prohibited from an even stronger perspective. So, if it is more profitable for this person to temporarily let this money go out, why does he not pay its zakah? And if he pays its zakah, a third profit comes to him
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And you, my brother
The questioner: Our Shaykh, on the same issue
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The Shaykh : Please go ahead.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : How?
The Shaykh: That is, a man gave a loan to a person named Zayd. Is there zakah on this debt for the creditor or not? The answer is that, according to the jurists, the debt has two forms, and these are two real forms in practice. This is part of the precision of the science of Islamic jurisprudence. They call one a "living debt" and the other a "dead debt." I think the intended meaning of their words is clear. A living debt is a debt you lent to a person who is not unable to repay it, meaning you have not lost hope in his repayment. As for a dead debt, it is the one from which you have lost hope of recovering it by any means. If the debt is of the first type—bring a small child to the councilThe Shaykh -
Welcome, how many days old is he?
The questioner: Twenty-one days?
The Shaykh: And you named him Yusuf.
The questioner: Yes, Yusuf.
The Shaykh: I seek protection for you with the perfect words of Allah from every Shaytan, harmful creature, and evil eye. May Allah make him grow up well
The questioner : May Allah bless you
The Shaykh: And make him a source of joy for his parents
The questioner : May Allah bless you
The Shaykh: If Allah wills. So, if the debt is of the first category, meaning a living debt, it is obligatory for the creditor to pay its zakah
The questioner: A living debt
The Shaykh: Yes. But if it is a dead debt, he does not pay zakah on it unless Allah revives it, meaning this person had lost hope in his repayment, but Allah the Mighty and Majestic inspired him and he repaid the debt. Do you want to see for every year that he was delinquent...
The questioner: And he pays two and a half percent?
The Shaykh: Yes, two and a half percent.
The questioner: Professor, excuse me, regarding the previous question: if this debt is one thousand dinars in the hand of the debtor and a lunar year passes over it, does the debtor pay zakah on it, given that it is a living debt, and the circumstances of the borrowing did not require him to keep it for a full year? Does he pay it, and if he pays it, would he be paying zakah twice?
The Shaykh: Yes, that is correct. This question came up yesterday or the day before yesterday
The questioner: Yesterday
The Shaykh: The day before yesterday, and we spoke in detail. We say that the debtor is supposed to use the money he borrowed from the creditor to meet his needs. If he does not do so for one reason or another, as they say today, and the money remains with him as a hoard, and a lunar year passes over it, it is obligatory for both the creditor and the debtor to pay their zakah. As for the creditor, it is clear. As for the debtor, because he has become a hoarder of the money, and a lunar year has passed over it, it is obligatory for him to pay the zakah. The wisdom behind this is so that the debtor does not get into trouble by keeping the money he borrowed, which would then be subject to zakah, while he needs to spend it to meet his necessities. So, in this case, if a lunar year passes over the money in the hands of the debtor, it is necessary to pay the zakah.
The questioner: Another question on the topic
The Shaykh: Please, go ahead
The questioner: Those who lend money do not actually own the money; it is not in their hands, it is with the debtor. So how does he pay zakah on money that is actually not in his hands?
The Shaykh: Beautiful. Perhaps you know, my brother, that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say:
Lending two dirhams is equivalent to giving one dirham in charity.
قرض درهمين صدقة درهمLending two dirhams is equivalent to giving one dirham in charity.
قرض درهمين صدقة درهمThe questioner: A final question
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: As far as I know, there is no explicit text from Allah or the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanding the obligation of zakah on one who has lent a debt. An explicit text regarding one who has lent?
The Shaykh: No, there is no explicit text.
The questioner: Why is this issue not
And He was silent to you about things out of mercy for you
وسكت لكم عن أشياء رحمة بكمThe Shaykh: We have already mentioned the answer to you, and we said that he has not lost; this is a profit. So, the question returns in another way: what is more profitable for this Muslim, that the debt remains with him, or with his Muslim brother?
The questioner: With his Muslim brother.
The Shaykh: Absolutely more profitable. And be careful, be careful in your answer. Yes. Which is more profitable for this Muslim, that he holds onto this loan in his safe, or that it temporarily leaves his possession to his brother who needs it? Which is more profitable for him?
The questioner: That he gives it to his brother.
The Shaykh: But you have not answered; you answered in a way that someone tries to get out of the problem, and that is not our way.
Al-Halabi: He wanted that.
The Shaykh: No, he did not want that. How did he want that?
Al-Halabi: I mean, he wanted to escape the problem.
The Shaykh: That is what I am saying. But without a doubt, this person who lent two hundred dinars to his Muslim brother, this is more profitable for him in both religion and worldly life, religion and worldly life. Therefore, we distinguished between a living debt and a dead debt. If his debt dies, he loses the material aspect, but the profit has been achieved for him: the otherworldly reward, the otherworldly profit. But if the money returns to him, he has profited twice: the immediate profit and the deferred profit. And if this point we are drawing attention to at the end is correct, meaning the answer is that it is more profitable for him to lend to his companion, then there is an argument by a fortiori (qiyas awla), like the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And do not say to them "uff"
ولا تقل لهما أفThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And you, my brother
The questioner: Our Shaykh, on the same issue
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.