Book 11: Business Transactions

Abu Khalda az-Zuraqi said: We went to Abu Huraira regarding a friend of ours who was insolvent and he said, “This is what God’s Messenger decided about him. If any one dies or is insolvent, the owner of the goods has most right to them if he finds his actual goods.” Shafi'i and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “A believer’s soul is attached to his debt till it is paid.” Shafi‘i, Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.

Al-Bara’ b. ‘Azib reported God's Messenger as saying, "A debtor is bound to his debt and will complain to his Lord of loneliness on the day of resurrection.” It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna. A mursal tradition is transmitted to the effect that Mu'adh was in debt and his creditors went to the Prophet (ﷺ) who sold all his property to pay his debt, with the result that Mu'adh had nothing left. This is the wording in al-Masabih, but the only source in which I have found it is al-Muntaqa.

‘Abd ar-Rahman b. Ka’b b. Malik said that Mu'adh b. Jabal was a generous young man who could save nothing and was always borrowing, so that he expended all his property on his debts. He went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and asked him to speak to his creditors, and if they would have remitted debts to anyone they would have done it to Mu'adh for God’s Messenger’s sake, but God’s Messenger sold them his property with the result that Mu'adh had nothing left. Sa'id transmitted it in his Sunan in mursal form.

Ash-Sharid reported God’s Messenger as saying, ‘‘Delay in payment on the part of one who possesses the means makes it lawful to dishonour and punish him.” Ibn al-Mubarak said that “dishonour” means he may be spoken to roughly and “punish” means he may be imprisoned for it. Abu Dawud and Nasa’i transmitted it.

Abu Sa'id al-Khudrl said that a corpse was brought to the Prophet (ﷺ) on a bier for him to pray over it and he asked the people whether their friend owed anything. On being told that he did, he asked whether he had left anything to discharge it, and when they replied that he had not, he told them to pray over him. But ‘Ali b. Abu Talib said, “I shall be responsible for his debt, Messenger of God,” so he went forward and prayed over him. A version has something to the same effect, adding that he said, “May God redeem your pledges from hell as you have redeemed the pledges of your brother Muslim! No Muslim will discharge his brother’s debt without God redeeming his pledges on the day of resurrection.” It is transmitted in Sharh as- sunna.

Thauban reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If anyone dies free from pride, unfaithfulness regarding spoil, and debt, he will enter paradise.” Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.

Abu Musa reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying, “The greatest sin in God's sight, after the serious sins which God has prohibited, which a man can bring into His presence is that he should die in debt without leaving enough to discharge it.” Ahmad and Abu Dawud transmitted it.

‘Amr b. ‘Auf al-Muzani reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying, “Reconciliation is allowable between Muslims except such as makes unlawful something which is lawful, or makes lawful something which is unlawful ; and Muslims must keep to the conditions they have made, except for a condition which makes unlawful something which is lawful, or makes lawful something which is unlawful.” Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Abu Dawud transmitted it, but Abu Dawud's transmission ended at “the conditions they have made.”