Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (9/202)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

Section

Suretyship is valid with respect to any guaranteed property, and for the person of one who owes a debt—but not in cases involving a prescribed punishment or retaliation. The surety’s consent is required, but not that of the person guaranteed. If he dies, or if the property is destroyed by an act of Allah Most High, or if he surrenders himself, the surety is released.

His statement, “Section: Suretyship is valid”: Suretyship is the third of the security contracts, for security contracts are pledge, guarantee, and suretyship.

Suretyship is the undertaking, by one legally competent to dispose of his property, to produce the person upon whom a right is due. Or, if you wish, one may say: to produce someone whose liability may be guaranteed. This includes guaranteed property, such as borrowed items—according to the view that they are guaranteed in all circumstances—usurped property, liability for defects in a sale, and liability arising from transgression with respect to entrusted property.

This definition clarifies the difference between suretyship and guarantee. A guarantee is an undertaking to discharge the debt, whereas suretyship is an undertaking to produce the person. Thus, once the surety produces the person guaranteed and hands him over to the holder of the right, he is released, whether that person pays the debt or does not pay it. This is a clear distinction.

Accordingly, suretyship provides a lesser degree of security than a guarantee, because the guarantor guarantees the debt, whereas the surety guarantees the person who owes the debt. Once he produces him, he is released. If the person guaranteed dies, the surety is released; whereas if the debtor dies in the case of a guarantee, the guarantor is not released.

However, if the prevailing custom among people is that suretyship means guarantee, should the meaning be understood according to custom or according to the Sacred Law?

The answer is: according to custom, because these are transactions in which people proceed according to their customary usage. At present, we have an established custom: if someone says, “I will stand surety for so-and-so,” they mean that he will guarantee the debt owed by that person.

But people have now begun to recognize the distinction to some extent. Thus, if someone says, “I will stand surety for him,” and adds that it is a financial suretyship, then he is a guarantor; but if he leaves it unrestricted, it is suretyship for the person. Therefore, custom is applied in either case.

فصلٌ وَتَصِحُّ الكَفَالَةُ بِكُلِّ عَيْنٍ مَضْمُونَةٍ، وَبِبَدَنِ مَنْ عَلَيْهِ دَيْنٌ، لَا حَدَّ وَلَا قِصَاصَ، وَيُعْتَبَرُ رِضَا الكَفِيلِ لَا مَكْفُولٍ بِهِ، فَإِنْ مَاتَ أَوْ تَلِفَتِ العَيْنُ بِفِعْلِ اللهِ تَعَالَى، أوْ سَلَّمَ نَفْسَه بَرِئَ الكَفِيلُ. قوله: «فصل: وتصح الكفالة» الكفالة هي العقد الثالث من عقود التوثقة؛ لأن عقود التوثقة رهن وضمان وكفالة. والكفالة التزام جائز التصرف إحضار بدن من عليه الحق، وإن شئت فقل: إحضار من يصح ضمانه؛ حتى تدخل الأعيان المضمونة كالعواري على القول بأنها مضمونة بكل حال، والمغصوب، وعهدة المبيع، وضمان التعدي في الأمانات. وبهذا التعريف نعرف الفرق بينها وبين الضمان، فالضمان أن يلتزم إحضار الدين، وهذا إحضار البدن، فإذا أحضر الكافل المكفول وسلمه لصاحب الحق برئ منه، سواء أوفاه أو لم يوفه، وهذا فرق واضح وحينئذٍ تكون الكفالة أدنى توثقة من الضمان؛ لأن الضمان يضمن الدين، وهذا يضمن من عليه الدين، فإذا أحضره برئ منه، وإذا مات المكفول برئ، وإذا مات في الضمان لا يبرأ. ولكن لو كان العرف عند الناس أن الكفالة بمعنى الضمان، فهل يحمل المعنى على العرف أو على الشرع؟ الجواب: على العرف؛ لأن هذه معاملات يجري الناس فيها على أعرافهم، فعندنا الآن عرف متبع، إذا قال: أنا أكفل فلاناً، يريدون بذلك أن يضمن ما عليه من الدين. لكن بدؤوا الآن يعرفون بعض الشيء، فصار إذا قال: أنا أكفله، إن أضاف إليها كفالةَ غُرمٍ صار ضامناً، وإن أطلق فهي كفالة بدن، فيُعمل بالعُرف سواء في هذا أو هذا.