The dangers of debts
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
All the praises and thanks be
to Allah, the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinn and all that
exists), and no aggression is there except against the oppressors,
and prayers and peace of Allah be upon whom who is sent as a mercy
to the 'Alamîn.
People have become unaware of
the dangers of debt that some of them ended up in prisons or had to
sell some of their properties to return all or some money to their
creditors.
Therefore, I liked to write
this message about the danger of debt and its consequences of great
mischief both in this worldly life and the Hereafter. It does not
stop at prison or selling some of the properties to pay off the
debt; it goes beyond that to severe remorse and regret on the Day
of Resurrection. How sever is the regret of the slave who dealt
with the money of people and took it but did not pay it back! Apart
from the humility in this worldly life, paying the debt off is
waiting for him in the Hereafter, on the day when he will come a
bankrupt, powerless and humiliated. He will not be able to give
back rights nor give a valid excuse and thus his good deeds which
he has spent his life accumulating will be taken from him and given
to his adversaries in replacement for their money… have you not
heard the words of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him: "do you know who the bankrupt is?"
So the slave of Allah should
now think deeply about his book of deeds, if it is empty from acts
of injustice to people not to mention debts, you counted it a
little thing, while with Allah it was very great. If you realize
the danger of debts and the mischief it may bring about, then you
should consider these commandments:
1-
Being free from debt brings
about happiness, freedom and peace of mind.
2-
That because the Messenger of
Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has sought refuge
with Allah from debt so many times a man from the companions said
to him: "O Messenger of Allah why do you so frequently seek refuge
with Allah from being in debt?"
He replied: "A person in debt
tells lies whenever he speaks, and breaks promises whenever he
makes (them)." [Agreed upon]
Being in debt is a pretext of
lying when talking and in breaking promises; so it is worthy of the
one who is in debt or the one that who is afraid of falling into
being in debt to frequently invoke Allah by this
invocation:
"O Allah, You alleviate debt
and sin so alleviate them from me. O Allah, I seek refuge with You
from the sins and from being in debt."
3-
So many people are ignorant of
the danger of debt that they resort to it even in the most trivial
matters. If they had known how the Prophet, peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him, has warned sternly against it they would have
never committed being in debt. It has been narrated in so many
Hadith that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
has abstained from praying the funeral prayer on him who was in
debt. In the well-established Hadith, a man was brought to the
Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to pray on him
but he said: "you pray on your companion, he has unpaid debt."
[Reported by At-Tirmidhi, Hasan Sahih (good authentic)]
It is worthy to mention that
the previous case was at the beginning of Islam, when Allah opened
the gates of profit to His Messenger he said: "I am closer to every
believer than his own self; so whosoever leaves unpaid debt I am to
pay it off, and whosoever leaves money (as inheritance) the debt is
to be paid off by his heirs." [Narrated by Abu Dawud and
authenticated by Al-Albani]
And whoever dies and has not
paid off his debt, paying off will be from his good deeds in the
Hereafter.
4-
The stern warning against
being in debt that if a person was duly martyred in supporting the
religion of Allah he will not enter Paradise unless he pays off his
debts. Imam An-Nasâ'i reported, in a good chain of transmission,
and Al-Hakim, and the wordings are his, that Mohamed ibn Abdullah
ibn Jahsh said: the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him, was sitting where the funerals are put (by the
graves) then he raised his head to heavens, then he lowered his
gaze, and then he put his hand on his forehead and said: "Glory be
to Allah! Glory be to Allah! What a stern revelation." He said: we
knew but kept silent. The following day I asked the Messenger of
Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, about the stern
revelation.
He said: "it is revealed about
the debt. By Him in Whose Hands is my soul if a man was killed on
the cause of Allah, then he lived again and was killed again, then
he lived again and was killed again while he has unpaid debt he
will not enter Paradise unless his debt is paid off."
Imam Muslim reported in his
authentic book of Hadith: "Allah forgives all the sins of a martyr
except unpaid debt".
And in a narration on the
authority of Samra bin Jundob: "Is there any one from "so-and-so
tribe" your companion is imprisoned by the gate of Paradise (he
cannot pass the gate) because of an unpaid debt." [Al-Albani
reported it with an authentic chain of transmission]
5-
Abandoning being in debt in
the time of prosperity and preferring to be safe of it is better
than borrowing money and be in debt that he would find it hard in
the future to pay it off. Thus he would enter Hellfire because of
debt, where his good deeds will be taken to his creditors and if
they are not enough their sins are thrown over him. The case has
been to some people that they borrow money to go on vacation in
some resorts, thus he over burdens himself with heavy debts. This
is but ignorance of the danger of debt and it is out of the blind
imitation of the luxurious; it is entering into the hatred of Allah
as He loathes the arrogant in-debt people; it is running away from
the taunting of family and kids.
6-
Too much debt brings about
poverty and takes bless away from money; it threatens with
devastation and loss. Some people have the salary of more than ten
thousand Riyals, nevertheless, they complain of debt as a result of
poor planning and management. They drown themselves in
installments, and whenever something is presented to him he would
rush to these companies and fall in installments. The case has been
to some people that they have drowned themselves in luxuries: the
furniture is bought in installments, the car as well as the trade
that they cannot pay it off any more. Thus he spends and his family
years in great destitution; his income decreases and the requests
of creditors increase as a result of excessiveness. Allah Glorified
and Exalted has said: {And let not your hand be tied (like a miser)
to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach (like a
spendthrift), so that you become blameworthy and in severe
poverty.} [Surat Al-Isrâ': 29]
Transliteration:
Wala tajAAal yadaka
maghloolatan ilaAAunuqika wala tabsutha
kulla albasti fataqAAuda malooman
mahsooran
And the Almighty has said:
{And those who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor
niggardly, but hold a medium (way) between those (extremes).}
[Surat Al-Furqân: 67].
Transliteration:
Waallatheena
itha anfaqoo lam yusrifoo walam yaqturoo wakana bayna
thalika qawaman
7-
Taking people's money with the
intention of not returning it back is treachery and theft. The
Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has
said: "if a man marries a woman with a dowry (that he will pay it
for her later) and that he intends not to give it to her is an
adulterer, and whoever borrows money and he intends not to pay it
off is a thief" [Al-Albani said authentic due to other
narrations],
And in a narration by
At-Tabarani: "he will meet Allah as a thief".
The Messenger of Allah, peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said: "Whoever takes the
money of people with the intention of repaying it, Allah will repay
it on his behalf, and whoever takes it in order to spoil it, then
Allah will spoil him." [Reported by Al-Bukhari]
8-
The creditor who intends to
alleviate the distress of people is embraced by the mercy and glory
of Allah. In the authentic Hadith: "whoever relieves the distress
of his debtor or erases his debt, verily he will be under the shade
of the Throne on the Day of Resurrection." [Authenticated by
Al-Albani]
Allah Almighty has said: {And
if the debtor is in a hard time (has no money), then grant him time
till it is easy for him to repay, but if you remit it by way of
charity, that is better for you if you did but know} [Surat
Al-Baqarah: 280].
Transliteration:
Wain kana thoo
AAusratin fanathiratun ila maysaratin waan
tasaddaqoo khayrun lakum in kuntum
taAAlamoona
9-
The debt is distress at night
and humiliation during the day, so whoever feels that debt is
humiliating for men would not dare to fall in debt. It is in the
Hadith: "the honor of the believer is his standing at night
(praying and invoking Allah) and his pride is his being independent
from people". [Declared good by Al-Albani]
Imam At-Tirmidhi reported from
Abu Kabshah Al-Anmari: "and, verily, the slave will not open a door
of begging but that Allah will open before him a door of poverty",
this Hadith is good and authentic.
10-
Beware of imitation. Just that
someone has opened a shop and was successful in it you find some
people rushing to borrow funds and collecting a large amount of
money by debt and then starts a project, and that he wants to
become a merchant overnight. Why do you involve yourself in such a
predicament, which consequences may be loss, and thus you fall in
unbearable debts that you cannot pay off? Do not risk yourself with
which you cannot bear. Safety is above everything. So do not seek
debt until you make all possible calculations, and unless you
consider the outlet if you lose and how to pay off people's money
and give them their rights back. O brother, beware of debt as you
can; because death comes suddenly. Economize in your spending and
be moderate and waste not by extravagance so that you will not
become blameworthy and in severe poverty.
11-
And know -may Allah bless- you
that if you fall in the predicament of debt your priority should be
to pay off the debt; as it was said he who is worried because of
his debt, he should pay it off. And try to reduce excessive luxury
and extravagance. There are some people who borrow the money then
they would have no determination in paying it off; so they borrow
each month and do not care about the increasing debt. If he asks
people for debt, he insists on begging. And when the debt is due he
procrastinates. He would become angry if people request for their
money. Some of them solve the problem of debt with another debt;
their status is such as the status of those who rose from a hole to
fall into a ditch. He would buy a car in installments and sell it
in cash; though this issue has the suspicion of usury as was stated
by his Eminence Sheikh Abdul-Aziz ibn Baz, especially for him whose
intention was to get money.
12-
Do not borrow unless in case
of necessity, and do you know the meaning of necessity? It is when
a mischief is due to take place in this worldly life and in the
Hereafter; like delaying marriage that would lead to adultery. It
is in the Hadith: "verily, there are three who deserve the help of
Allah, and he has mentioned amongst them the one who is getting
married". [Ibn Mulqen, authentic]
13-
From the commandments is to
pay of your debts justly and not to procrastinate; and that you
should not eat up people's money or denying having them. There are
some borrowers who would come to you in a humble manner showing off
piety and honesty; he would come to you asking to lend him money
that you might be needing at the present or the following day; they
remind you of the reward of generosity; they may also seek the help
of those whom you cannot refuse a demand to; so you give him what
he wants in private; you might even be shy of making someone
witnessing the situation or that you make him sign an IOU; though
Allah has commanded us when we contract a debt for a fixed period
that we should write it down. It is a command of favor not a
command of obligation. So he takes the money thanking and praising
you in a way that may make you shy of his praise. Then you will not
see him again. You will not have a glimpse of his face. You will
search for him to repay you the debt which is due and that you need
the money, but he evades you, he skews from you. You knock at his
door but you are told he is not present. You return in the morning
but he is asleep. You come after an hour and he has gone. You seek
all means and friends to intercede with him but he meets you
proudly turning his face away from you with pride, saying: O
brother!! You have bothered us with this debt. What a strange
persistence! Are you afraid that I will eat it up? And he scolds
you while you are humoring him. And if he is a good man he would
pay you your money but a riyal at a time that you lose your face
collecting your debt. Your money becomes an affliction which you
lose precious time in collecting and then you will not benefit from
it as it is being repaid a penny after the other while you have
given it as a whole sum. If he has no honor or conscience he will
eat up the whole debt and will scream at you that you have no right
with him and that you can go to court. He knows that you have no
proof against him. But even though if you have written down the
debt, have you any patience with the prolonged trials, their
postponements and following them up? Verily, losing the money is
easier than resorting to courts. O debtors: Is there any reward for
good other than good?
Written by:
Abdul-Rahman ibn Yahya At-Turki
Translated by Wathakker Website
en.wathakker.net
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