The ruling on paying zakah when you have a debt
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Q: If I have a sum of money and a lunar year has passed over it, and I am obligated to pay off the Real Estate Development Fund, should I pay the zakah on the amount or not? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good.
A: You must pay the zakah on the money you possess; due to the generality of the evidence. As for the debt you owe, it does not prevent the payment of zakah according to the most correct opinion of the scholars; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to send collectors to take the zakah, and they did not ask those who owed zakah if they had any debts. If the debt had prevented the payment of zakah, his collectors (peace and blessings be upon him) would have asked the owners of wealth if they had any debts! May Allah guide them all.
A: You must pay the zakah on the money you possess; due to the generality of the evidence. As for the debt you owe, it does not prevent the payment of zakah according to the most correct opinion of the scholars; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to send collectors to take the zakah, and they did not ask those who owed zakah if they had any debts. If the debt had prevented the payment of zakah, his collectors (peace and blessings be upon him) would have asked the owners of wealth if they had any debts! May Allah guide them all.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.