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Statement on Giving Respite to the Insolvent Person
Author : The General Iftaa` Department
Date Added : 03-07-2023

Statement on Giving Respite to the Insolvent Person

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

 

In the difficult circumstances that the world is experiencing, the conditions of those who live on a subsistence level are tightening as well as those who get their livelihood day by day. If their work is disrupted, they will not find what they can live on. However, the words of our Lord, the Most High, apply to them: " (Charity is) for those in need, who, in God’s cause are restricted (from travel), and cannot move about in the land, seeking (For trade or work): the ignorant man thinks, because of their modesty, that they are free from want. Thou shalt know them by their (Unfailing) mark: They beg not importunately from all the sundry. And whatever of good ye give, be assured God knoweth it well." {Al-Baqarah, 273}. Therefore, it has become imperative upon every affluent person to check on the weak and poor individuals whom he knows and help alleviate their burdens and ensure them a minimum level of decent living. This is both a religious and social responsibility on the wealthy and affluent members of society towards their brothers for it raises the spirit of cooperation, love and solidarity between them. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy are just like one body. When one of the limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever." {Transmitted by Muslim}. He (PBUH) also said: "A believer is like a brick for another believer, the one supporting the other." {Transmitted by Muslim}. Moreover, this is what the Messenger of Allah loves where he (PBUH) said: "When the Ash'ariyun run short of food in the Jihad or when they are at home in Al-Madinah, they collect all the provisions they have in a sheet and then divide it equally among themselves. They are of me and I am of them." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

 

Helping and forgiving others as well as waiving some of the rights due on them, or postponing their collection or some of them, out of solidarity considering their difficult situation, is a sign of the mercy inherent in the heart. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) promised these merciful people to be shown the mercy of Allah, where he said: "The merciful will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Be merciful to those on the earth, and the One in the heavens will have mercy unto you." {Transmitted by Tirmidhi}. This is because when a believer forgives or fulfills the needs of the person who is going through difficult circumstances, Allah  the Almighty treats him in the same way, because of his mercy towards the servants of Allah, for rewards depend on the kind of deed.

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) has warned against harshness and cruelty of the heart and not helping others although one is able to. He (PBUH) said, "He who is not merciful to others, will not be treated mercifully." { Al-Bukhari and Muslim}. He (PBUH) added: "Mercy is not removed (from anyone) except from a wicked one." {Transmitted by Tirmithi}.

 

Not only commanded giving respite to the insolvent person, but Allah the Almighty has also encouraged remitting the debt by way of charity where He said {what means}: " If the debtor is in a difficulty, grant him time Till it is easy for him to repay. But if ye remit it by way of charity, that is best for you if ye only knew." {Al-Baqarah, 280}. This is also celebrated in the Sunnah. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) 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."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

 

In conclusion, we call on all Muslims to show mercy and forgiveness to each other, make reconciliation, fulfill the needs of fellow Muslims, give respite to the insolvent person and even remit the debt by way of charity, if possible. And to Allah belongs every success.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

My father has debts and asked me to repay them years ago, and I promised him I would do so upon his death — is it permissible for me to go back on my promise given that I am unable to repay them, especially since he refuses to contribute to repayment on the grounds that the debt has become my responsibility by virtue of my promise?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The established principle is that a father's debt is to be repaid from his own wealth, if he possesses sufficient means. As for the promise made by the son to repay it on his father's behalf, fulfilling such a promise is strongly recommended, and breaking it is considerably disliked. Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Fulfilling a promise is emphatically recommended, and breaking it is severely disliked. The evidences for this from the Qurʾān and the Sunnah are well known." [Rawḍat al-Ṭālibīn,Vol. 2/P.278] Shaykh al-Islām Imām Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī, may Allah have mercy upon him, further states: "The reason fulfilling a promise is not obligatory and breaking it is not forbidden is that a promise is in the nature of a gift, and a gift does not become binding except upon receipt." [Asnā al-Maṭālib fī Sharḥ Rawḍ al-Ṭālib,Vol. 2/P.487]
Given that the son does not possess the financial means to fulfil his promise to his father, breaking this promise falls beyond his capacity — and Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. Since the father himself possesses sufficient wealth to settle his own debt, repayment must be made from his own funds. Should he pass away before doing so, the debt is to be settled from his estate. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on the prayer of zawal?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended (sunnah) to pray four rakʿāt — either with a single tasleem or as two separate sets of two rakʿāt — immediately following the sun's decline from its zenith (zawāl). This prayer is distinct from the regular Sunnah prayer of Ẓuhr (sunnat al-ẓuhr al-rātibah), as explicitly stated by the Shāfiʿī jurists.
It is mentioned in Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj: "The prayer of zawāl is offered after the sun's decline — so were one to perform it before that, it would not count. It consists of two or four rakʿāt and is distinct from the Sunnah of Ẓuhr, as is evident from the fact that it is mentioned separately after the regular Sunnah prayers, and it becomes a make-up prayer (qaḍāʾ) if a long period of time passes by customary reckoning... Al-ʿAlqamī stated: 'Scholars refer to this as the Sunnah of Zawāl, and it is distinct from the four rakʿāt that constitute the Sunnah of Ẓuhr.' Our shaykh said: Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī stated that among those who explicitly affirmed its recommendation was al-Ghazālī in al-Iḥyāʾ, in the chapter on devotional litanies, noting that there is no tasleem between them — meaning there is no break between each pair of rakʿāt."
The time of the sun's decline (zawāl) marks the very beginning of the time for the Ẓuhr prayer.
And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on offering the sacrifice (uḍḥiyah) using the wealth of a minor or a legally incompetent person (safīh)?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is not permissible for the guardian (walī) of an orphan or a legally incompetent person (safīh) to offer the sacrifice (uḍḥiyah) on behalf of the minor or the safīh using their wealth, because the guardian is charged with exercising caution over their wealth and is prohibited from giving any of it away voluntarily, and the udḥiyah is a voluntary act of charity (tabarru'). The guardian may, however, offer the sacrifice using his own personal wealth. And Allah, the Most High, knows best.

What is the ruling on swearing an oath by the Prophet ﷺ, and does such an oath take effect according to Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, requiring expiation upon its breach?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Swearing an oath by a created being is disliked (makrūh) in our Shāfiʿī school. Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Swearing by a created being is disliked — such as swearing by the Prophet, the Kaʿbah, Jibrīl, the Companions, or the Prophet's family. Al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: 'I fear that swearing by other than Allah the Almighty may constitute an act of disobedience.' The scholars of the school explained this to mean: that is, something forbidden and sinful — indicating that he had some hesitation in the matter. Al-Imām stated: the established position of the school is that it is categorically not forbidden, but rather disliked. Furthermore, whoever swears by a created being, his oath does not take effect and no expiation (kaffārah) is required if he breaks it." [Rawḍat al-Ṭālibīn wa ʿUmdat al-Muftīn, Vol. 11/P.6]
According to the Ḥanbalī school, however, expiation becomes obligatory upon one who swears by our master the Prophet ﷺ and then breaks his oath. Imām al-Bahūtī al-Ḥanbalī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "No expiation is required for swearing by other than Allah the Almighty, even if the oath is broken — because expiation was made obligatory for swearing by Allah and His attributes, out of reverence for His names, and nothing else is equal to Him in this regard... except in the case of swearing by our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, for expiation becomes obligatory when one swears by him and then breaks the oath. This was explicitly stated in the narration of Abū Ṭālib, because he is one of the two conditions of the two testimonies of faith by which a disbeliever becomes a Muslim. Ibn ʿAqīl held the view that swearing by any of the other prophets, peace and blessings be upon them all, carries the same ruling." [Sharḥ Muntahā al-Irādāt, Vol. 3/P.441]. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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