Ruling on spending zakah to pay off the debt of a deceased person
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Q167: The questioner, E. N. from the Dammam province, says: A person died with a debt, and he left behind nothing to pay off this debt. Is it permissible to pay off his debt from zakah, or not?
A167: There is no doubt that paying off the debt of a deceased person is prescribed, and it is an act of kindness to the deceased, a release from his pledge, and a fulfillment of his liability. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in the early days of Islam, when a deceased person was brought to him to be prayed over, would ask: "Does he have any debt?" If he was informed that he had a debt, he would delay the prayer and say:. On some occasions, some of the Companions would take on the debt of the deceased, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would pray over him, and he would urge this Companion to pay the debt he had committed to paying until he did so. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) then made a supplication for him for this action, and said: , meaning the deceased. When Allah made things easy for His Messenger, he would take on the debt of the deceased who had no means of repayment and pray over him. This indicates the permissibility of paying off the debt of a deceased person. As for paying it from zakah, this is a matter of disagreement among the scholars, because—Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He—has specified the eight categories of zakah recipients, so one must restrict oneself to what He—Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He—has specified, and it is not permissible to add to them. Paying off the debt of a deceased person does not appear to fall within these eight categories, and this is one of the opinions of the scholars. The second opinion is a narration from Ahmad, and it was chosen by Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah, who said: It is permissible to pay off the debt of a deceased person from zakah, but whenever it is possible to pay the debt from other than zakah, that is more cautious and better. And Allah knows best.
A167: There is no doubt that paying off the debt of a deceased person is prescribed, and it is an act of kindness to the deceased, a release from his pledge, and a fulfillment of his liability. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in the early days of Islam, when a deceased person was brought to him to be prayed over, would ask: "Does he have any debt?" If he was informed that he had a debt, he would delay the prayer and say:
Pray over your companion
صلوا على صاحبكمNow his skin has cooled
الآن بردت عليه جلدته
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.