Continuation of the explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "… and you give the zakah …". In it is mentioned the people of zakah.
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The Shaykh : Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows:
We have previously discussed what Allah has made easy regarding the rulings of zakah. We were speaking about the categories of people to whom Allah the Exalted ordered that zakah be paid. We discussed the poor, the needy, those who work on it, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and those in bondage. And regarding His saying, the Exalted:, we mentioned that it includes what? Three things.
As for His saying:, the person in debt (gharim) is one who has a debt in his liability that he cannot pay off, or one who has a debt in his liability for a public interest, even if he is able to pay it off. For this reason, the scholars said that debt is of two types. The first type is the person in debt for the sake of another, and the second is the person in debt for himself. That is, the person in debt for the sake of another is one who spends money to reconcile between people, such as when there is a dispute, quarrel, litigation, hostility, or hatred between two tribes, and a man of good standing stands up to reconcile between the two tribes on the basis of a sum of money that he commits to paying from his own liability. Here, he is in debt, but not for himself, rather for a public interest, which is reconciliation between these two tribes. The scholars said that this man is given what pays off his debt, even if he is rich, because this is not for himself; it is for the interest of others. So he is given it even if he is rich. If, for example, a man has one hundred thousand riyals and is rich, and he reconciles between two tribes with ten thousand riyals, and he is able to pay it from his wealth, we say: No, it is not obligatory for him to pay it from his own wealth. We give him from the zakah what pays off this debt, because that is for the interest of others, and because this opens the door for reconciliation among people. If we did not support this man and give him what he spent, people would be lazy about reconciling between conflicting or hostile groups. So if we give him what he spent, this encourages it.
As for the second type of debt, it is the person in debt for himself. A man rented a house for five thousand riyals and does not have what to pay the rent. He has nothing; he is not in need in his own food, drink, or clothing, but he needs to pay off the debt that became obligatory upon him by renting the house. So we give this man the rent of the house from the zakah, because he is among those in debt. He is among those in debt. Similarly, a person is struck by a calamity that swept away his wealth, such as a fire or a flood or the like, and a debt has befallen him in this. So we give him what settles his debt, because he is unable to pay it off. For this type of person in debt, it is required that he be unable to pay off the debt. If he is able, he is not given.
But is it permissible for a person to go to the creditor who has the debt and say to him, "This claim that you have against so-and-so, take it," and intend it from the zakah? The answer is yes, it is permissible. It is not a condition that you give the person in debt so that he gives it to the creditor. What is the condition? That is, if you went to the creditor from the beginning and said, "So-and-so, I have heard that you are claiming ten thousand riyals from so-and-so," and he said, "Yes," and confirmed this, I say, "Please, here are ten thousand riyals." There is no need for me to say to the debtor, "I have paid off for you." There is no need for that, because the intended purpose is to clear the liability, and that is achieved whether you informed him or not.
And consider the expression in the verse. We read:[At-Tawbah 9:60] Muhammad, the needy, and what is conjoined to it?
The student: ...
The Shaykh :[At-Tawbah 9:60] All these three are conjoined to His saying: with the letter lam. Yes, [At-Tawbah 9:60]. Then He said: , and He did not say "and for those in bondage." He said "in," which indicates preposition, meaning that if you spend the zakah in these categories, even if you do not give it to their owner, and those in debt—those in debt are conjoined to those in bondage, so they are included in the meaning of "in those in debt." So there is no need for you to make the person in debt own it so that he gives the creditor what is due. It is sufficient that you go and give the creditor, and the debtor is cleared.
But if someone were to ask, "Is it better for me to go to the creditor and pay him, or to give the debtor so that he pays it himself?" We say there is a detail in this. If you fear that if you gave the debtor, he would not pay it off—he would eat the money and leave the debt as it is—then here you do not give the debtor. You give the creditor, the claimant. Because if I gave the debtor, he would go buy things he has no need for and leave the debt, because some people do not care about the debt that is upon them. So if you know that this debtor, if you gave him, would squander the money and his liability would remain occupied, then I do not give him, but I give the creditor here. Good.
As for if the debtor, the one who is claimed against, is a man of intellect and religion, and it is not possible that he would be satisfied with his liability remaining occupied, and I know, or it is highly likely in my opinion, that if I give him, he will immediately go to the creditor and pay off his debt, then here we give the debtor. We say, "Take this money and pay it off for yourself," because this is more concealing for him. Because if you went to pay it off, there would be some embarrassment for him. But if you give him so that he pays it off, there is no doubt that this is more concealing for him and better. However, we must be careful, if we are distributing zakah, of the trickery of some people. Some people present to you a statement of the debt that is upon them, and you pay what Allah wills you to pay. And after a year, they present to you the same statement and do not deduct what was paid off for them. So be careful of this, because some people have become, and may Allah protect us, not caring whether it is lawful or forbidden; the important thing is acquiring wealth. So they bring the first list, of which perhaps half was paid off, and show it to you. So in such a case, be careful, be careful of this thing. And people of this type have presented things to us, and we went to pay the creditor based on the statement that was presented. Then the creditor said, "He has already paid me off." The creditor said, "He has already paid me off." And this is a problem. This is a problem. But a person should be cautious, be cautious. And if he fears Allah as much as he is able, and then it becomes clear afterwards that the one who took the zakah was not eligible for zakah, then his liability is cleared. And this is from the grace of Allah. That is, if you gave a person whom you thought was among the people of zakah, and then it became clear that he was not among the people of zakah, and on the day you gave it to him, it was highly likely in your opinion that he was eligible, then there is nothing upon you, and your zakah is accepted. And success is from Allah.
We have previously discussed what Allah has made easy regarding the rulings of zakah. We were speaking about the categories of people to whom Allah the Exalted ordered that zakah be paid. We discussed the poor, the needy, those who work on it, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and those in bondage. And regarding His saying, the Exalted:
and in the freeing of slaves
وفي الرقابAs for His saying:
and those in debt
والغارمينAs for the second type of debt, it is the person in debt for himself. A man rented a house for five thousand riyals and does not have what to pay the rent. He has nothing; he is not in need in his own food, drink, or clothing, but he needs to pay off the debt that became obligatory upon him by renting the house. So we give this man the rent of the house from the zakah, because he is among those in debt. He is among those in debt. Similarly, a person is struck by a calamity that swept away his wealth, such as a fire or a flood or the like, and a debt has befallen him in this. So we give him what settles his debt, because he is unable to pay it off. For this type of person in debt, it is required that he be unable to pay off the debt. If he is able, he is not given.
But is it permissible for a person to go to the creditor who has the debt and say to him, "This claim that you have against so-and-so, take it," and intend it from the zakah? The answer is yes, it is permissible. It is not a condition that you give the person in debt so that he gives it to the creditor. What is the condition? That is, if you went to the creditor from the beginning and said, "So-and-so, I have heard that you are claiming ten thousand riyals from so-and-so," and he said, "Yes," and confirmed this, I say, "Please, here are ten thousand riyals." There is no need for me to say to the debtor, "I have paid off for you." There is no need for that, because the intended purpose is to clear the liability, and that is achieved whether you informed him or not.
And consider the expression in the verse. We read:
Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy
إنما الصدقات للفقراء والمساكينThe student: ...
The Shaykh :
and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam]
والمساكين والعاملين عليها والمؤلفة قلوبهمfor the poor
للفقراءfor the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together
للفقراء والمساكين والعاملين عليها والمؤلفة قلوبهمand in the freeing of slaves
وفي الرقابBut if someone were to ask, "Is it better for me to go to the creditor and pay him, or to give the debtor so that he pays it himself?" We say there is a detail in this. If you fear that if you gave the debtor, he would not pay it off—he would eat the money and leave the debt as it is—then here you do not give the debtor. You give the creditor, the claimant. Because if I gave the debtor, he would go buy things he has no need for and leave the debt, because some people do not care about the debt that is upon them. So if you know that this debtor, if you gave him, would squander the money and his liability would remain occupied, then I do not give him, but I give the creditor here. Good.
As for if the debtor, the one who is claimed against, is a man of intellect and religion, and it is not possible that he would be satisfied with his liability remaining occupied, and I know, or it is highly likely in my opinion, that if I give him, he will immediately go to the creditor and pay off his debt, then here we give the debtor. We say, "Take this money and pay it off for yourself," because this is more concealing for him. Because if you went to pay it off, there would be some embarrassment for him. But if you give him so that he pays it off, there is no doubt that this is more concealing for him and better. However, we must be careful, if we are distributing zakah, of the trickery of some people. Some people present to you a statement of the debt that is upon them, and you pay what Allah wills you to pay. And after a year, they present to you the same statement and do not deduct what was paid off for them. So be careful of this, because some people have become, and may Allah protect us, not caring whether it is lawful or forbidden; the important thing is acquiring wealth. So they bring the first list, of which perhaps half was paid off, and show it to you. So in such a case, be careful, be careful of this thing. And people of this type have presented things to us, and we went to pay the creditor based on the statement that was presented. Then the creditor said, "He has already paid me off." The creditor said, "He has already paid me off." And this is a problem. This is a problem. But a person should be cautious, be cautious. And if he fears Allah as much as he is able, and then it becomes clear afterwards that the one who took the zakah was not eligible for zakah, then his liability is cleared. And this is from the grace of Allah. That is, if you gave a person whom you thought was among the people of zakah, and then it became clear that he was not among the people of zakah, and on the day you gave it to him, it was highly likely in your opinion that he was eligible, then there is nothing upon you, and your zakah is accepted. And success is from Allah.