The Ruling on Zakah on a Debt and Buying and Selling on Credit
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Question:
A person is demanding money from me, and the one mentioned is in a state of financial hardship. Is it permissible for me to leave this amount as the zakah of my wealth?
Another question following the first one: Is it permissible for me to buy something on credit and sell it likewise on credit for a deferred period?
Answer:
This has its own ruling, and this has its own ruling:
Regarding the first question: A person is not allowed to give the debtor what he owes from the zakah in order to discharge his debt as zakah on his wealth. No, zakah is the payment of wealth and the giving of wealth; it is not a discharge of wealth. So if your brother is in financial difficulty or poor, you must grant him a respite and give him time; as He, the Exalted, said: [al-Baqarah: 280], and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
So it is obligatory for you to grant a respite to the one in financial difficulty. And if you waive part of the amount or the entire amount, that is sadaqah, not from the zakah, but voluntary charity; as He, the Exalted, said: [al-Baqarah: 280]. As for making the debt zakah, that is not allowed; because this is a protection for the wealth, to profit from this wealth that is with the one in financial difficulty, so he makes it a protection for his wealth, and pays the zakah with it. And this wealth may be realized, or it may not be realized, so it is not made zakah. But the owner of the debt is granted a respite. As for the zakah, he pays it out of the wealth that is with him.
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As for the debt, there is a detail: If you sell the commodity that is with you—which you have owned and taken possession of, whether it is a car or otherwise—and then you sell it for a deferred period, there is no harm. For a known deferred period, there is no harm. But do not sell what is not with you. Do not sell what is with people until you buy it and take possession of it and it is in your control, then you sell it; as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 2187Hasan (Darussalam). It is not permissible to combine a loan and a sale, nor to sell what is not with you. And because he (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade selling commodities where they are bought until the merchants take them to their homes, so do not sell what is not with you.
A person is demanding money from me, and the one mentioned is in a state of financial hardship. Is it permissible for me to leave this amount as the zakah of my wealth?
Another question following the first one: Is it permissible for me to buy something on credit and sell it likewise on credit for a deferred period?
Answer:
This has its own ruling, and this has its own ruling:
Regarding the first question: A person is not allowed to give the debtor what he owes from the zakah in order to discharge his debt as zakah on his wealth. No, zakah is the payment of wealth and the giving of wealth; it is not a discharge of wealth. So if your brother is in financial difficulty or poor, you must grant him a respite and give him time; as He, the Exalted, said:
And if someone is in hardship, then [let there be] postponement until [a time of] ease
وَإِنْ كَانَ ذُو عُسْرَةٍ فَنَظِرَةٌ إِلَى مَيْسَرَةٍWhoever makes things easy for one in financial difficulty, Allah will make things easy for him in this world and the Hereafter. And whoever grants a respite to one in financial difficulty or waives for him, Allah will shade him in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His.
مَن يسَّر على مُعْسِرٍ يسَّر الله عليه في الدنيا والآخرة، ومَن أنظر مُعْسِرًا أو وضع له أظلَّه الله في ظلِّه يوم لا ظلَّ إلا ظلهSo it is obligatory for you to grant a respite to the one in financial difficulty. And if you waive part of the amount or the entire amount, that is sadaqah, not from the zakah, but voluntary charity; as He, the Exalted, said:
if you give [from your right as] charity, then it is better for you
وَأَنْ تَصَدَّقُوا خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ.......................
As for the debt, there is a detail: If you sell the commodity that is with you—which you have owned and taken possession of, whether it is a car or otherwise—and then you sell it for a deferred period, there is no harm. For a known deferred period, there is no harm. But do not sell what is not with you. Do not sell what is with people until you buy it and take possession of it and it is in your control, then you sell it; as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Do not sell what is not with you.
لا تبع ما ليس عندك
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.