Waiving A Debt As A Form Of Discharging Zakaat
Question
If someone owes me money, can I forgive him to make it my zakat payment?
Answer
By forgiving a debt that is owed to you, your Zakaat will not be discharged for the wealth which is in your possession. However, if you give your Zakaat to the person who owes you money, and he is a deserving recipient of Zakaat, and after you ask for the money back to fulfill the repayment of the debt, this will be permissible. In this way, both your Zakaat will be discharged and your debt will be paid.
References (Arabic / Urdu sources)
واعلم أن أداء الدين عن الدين والعين عن العين ، وعن الدين يجوز وأداء الدين عن العين ، وعن دين سيقبض لا يجوز و حيلة الجواز أن يعطي مديونه الفقير زكاته ثم يأخذها عن دينه
(رد المختار سعيد ج٢ ص٢٧٠)
وان كان المديون فقيرا فوهب الدين ينوي به زكاة مال عين عند الواهب لا يسقط عنه زكاة ذلك المال
(فتاوي قاضي خان حافظ كتب خانه ج! ص١٢٦)
- Approved by
- Mufti Muhammed Saeed Motara Saheb D.B.
Where scholars differ, it’s safer to take the more cautious view.
Fatawa SA is an independent, read-only index of fatawa already published by Darul Ifta, Darul Uloom Azaadville. It is not a fatwa service. For your own situation, please ask a Mufti. Report an issue
For corrections or mistakes, please email us at fatawasa786@gmail.com.
Source: Darul Ifta, Darul Uloom Azaadville — https://www.iftadua.co.za/waiving-a-debt-as-a-form-of-discharging-zakaat/17587/
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/azaadville-17587
Same question, other Darul Iftas
The closest match from each Darul Ifta, found by wording. Check that the question matches yours.
Mufti Online28 Jul 2016Waiving off a debt and considering it to be zakaatIf I lent someone cash as a loan and at first have every intention of asking it back. However, after…
Ask Imaam9 Mar 2016Waiving debt as ZakatIf Zayd gave Bakr £100 loan. After a longtime he realised that Bakr is not going to pay him back. Bakr…