And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted in the context of the hadiths in the chapter on the virtue of leniency in buying and selling: "From Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

There was a person who used to loan money to the people and he used to say to his servant: 'When an insolvent person comes to you, show him leniency so that Allah may forbear our faults.' So when he met Allah (i.e., when he died), Allah forgave him.

كان رجل يداين الناس وكان يقول لفتاه إذا أتيت معسرًا فتجاوز عنه لعل الله أن يتجاوز عنا فلقي الله فتجاوز عنه

Riyad as-Salihin 1370

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim, and from Abu Mas'ud al-Badri (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "A person from amongst the people who lived before you was called to account by Allah on the Day of Resurrection. No good deeds were found in his credit except that he being a rich man had (financial) dealings with people and had commanded his servants to show leniency to those who were in straitened circumstances. Upon this Allah, the Exalted, and Majestic said: 'I am more entitled to this attribute, so waive (his faults

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: حوسب رجل ممن كان قبلكم فلم يوجد له من الخير شيء إلا أنه كان يخالط الناس وكان موسرًا وكان يأمر غلمانه أن يتجاوزوا عن المعسر، قال الله عز وجل نحن أحق بذلك منه تجاوزوا عنه

Riyad as-Salihin 1371

Narrated by Muslim, and from Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:

Allah the Exalted brought a servant of His whom Allah had given wealth, and He said to him: "What did you do in the world?" He said: "And they do not conceal from Allah a word." He said: "O my Lord, You gave me Your wealth, so I used to trade with people, and it was my nature to be lenient, so I would make it easy for the wealthy and give time to the one who was unable to pay." Then Allah the Exalted said: "I have more right to do that than you. Be lenient with My servant." Then 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir and Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "This is how we heard it from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)."

أتى الله تعالى بعبد من عباده آتاه الله مالًا فقال له: ماذا عملت في الدنيا؟ قال: ولا يكتمون الله حديثًا، قال: يا رب آتيتني مالك فكنت أبايع الناس وكان من خلقي الجواز فكنت أتيسر على الموسر وأنظر المعسر، فقال الله تعالى: أنا أحق بذا منك تجاوزوا عن عبدي، فقال عقبة بن عامر وأبو مسعود الأنصاري رضي الله عنهما: هكذا سمعناه من في رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم

Narrated by Muslim".

The Shaykh : These three hadiths are in the chapter on leniency in buying and selling, and they contain the virtue of forgiving people and being lenient with them. In the first hadith, from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Meaning: he would deal with them through debt. Debt is not what is known to us as tawarruq, which is buying a commodity to sell it and benefit from its price. Debt is anything that is established in the liability; so if you sell a car to a person for a price that is not deferred and he does not pay you the price, the price is a debt in his liability. If you rent a house and the period ends and he does not pay you the rent, the rent is a debt in your liability. The point is that dealing through debt means dealing with people not in cash, meaning hand-to-hand, but selling to them and buying from them, and forgiving the one who is unable to pay. So he would say to his slave: "If you see a man who is unable to pay, be lenient with him, perhaps Allah will be lenient with us". So the slave would do this, and when he met Allah the Mighty and Majestic, Allah the Mighty and Majestic rewarded him with what He rewards people with, meaning He treated him as this man treated people, and Allah the Mighty and Majestic was lenient with him. This is because Allah is in the aid of the servant as long as the servant is in the aid of his brother, and because the reward is of the same kind as the deed. So in this hadith of Abu Hurayrah and the two hadiths after it, there is evidence for the virtue of giving time to the one who is unable to pay, being lenient with him, and releasing him from the debt. Rather, this brings blessing, goodness, increase, and growth in your wealth. As for giving time to the one who is unable to pay, it is obligatory; it is obligatory for a person, if his debtor is unable to pay and cannot fulfill the debt, to give him time, and it is not permissible for him to demand it or claim it, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: There is a difference between releasing from the debt, which is dropping the debt from the one who is unable to pay, and giving time. Giving time is obligatory, and releasing from the debt is a recommended practice. Undoubtedly, releasing from the debt is better because it clears the liability finally, whereas with giving time, the liability remains occupied, but the owner of the right does not claim it until the one who owes it is able to pay. Some people, may Allah spare us, have debts with poor people, and they hurt them, demand from them, claim from them, take them to the authorities, and detain them from their families, children, and wealth. This is undoubtedly an evil, and it is obligatory for the judges, if they determine that this person is unable to pay and cannot fulfill the debt, that they say to the creditor: "You have no right to claim from him," because Allah the Exalted is the Judge and the Ruler between the servants, and Allah the Exalted said: But some judges make excuses in this matter, saying that some debtors play with people, taking their money and denying their ability to pay, so they treat them this way to punish them. This is fine if it is established that the debtor claimed to be unable to pay but is not actually unable to pay; then there is no harm in forcing him, detaining him, and beating him until he pays. If he does not do so, the ruler takes charge of selling whatever he wishes of his wealth to pay his debt. As for the one whom we know is truly unable to pay, it is not permissible for the one claiming the debt to claim it or to say "Give it to me"; he must turn away from him completely, giving him time until he is able to pay. And success is from Allah.