The ruling on one who has a debt owed by a person in financial difficulty and intends to count it as zakah on his wealth
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Question:
This questioner says: If I have a debt owed by a person, and this person is unable to repay the debt, may I count it as zakah and stop demanding payment from this person without informing him?
Answer:
You may not do that. Rather, it remains a liability on him, and you must give him time if he is in financial difficulty until he can pay you. Do not count it as zakah. Zakah is paid out of the wealth you possess. As for the debt, it is not permissible to make it zakah. However, if the debtor is unable to pay, he should be given time; for Allah the Exalted says: [al-Baqarah:280] And in the authentic hadith: Muwatta Malik 51:14 Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you and bless you, may the Shaykh be respected.
This questioner says: If I have a debt owed by a person, and this person is unable to repay the debt, may I count it as zakah and stop demanding payment from this person without informing him?
Answer:
You may not do that. Rather, it remains a liability on him, and you must give him time if he is in financial difficulty until he can pay you. Do not count it as zakah. Zakah is paid out of the wealth you possess. As for the debt, it is not permissible to make it zakah. However, if the debtor is unable to pay, he should be given time; for Allah the Exalted says:
And if someone is in hardship, then [let there be] postponement until [a time of] ease
وَإِنْ كَانَ ذُو عُسْرَةٍ فَنَظِرَةٌ إِلَى مَيْسَرَةٍYahya related to me from Malik from Khubayb ibn Abd ar-Rahman al- Ansari from Hafs ibn Asim that either Abu Said al-Khudri or Abu Hurayra said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'There are seven whom Allah will shade in His shade on the day on which there is no shade except His shade: a just imam, a youth who grows up worshipping Allah, a man whose heart is attached to the mosque when he leaves it until he returns to it, two men who love each other in Allah and meet for that and part for that, a man who remembers Allah when he is alone and his eyes overflow with tears, a man who refuses the approaches of a noble, beautiful woman, saying "I fear Allah," and a man who gives sadaqa and conceals it so that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives.' "
من أنظر معسرًا أظله الله في ظله يوم لا ظل إلا ظلهThe presenter: May Allah reward you and bless you, may the Shaykh be respected.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.