Chapter on Transfer of Debt

His statement, “Chapter on transfer of debt”: ḥawālah means transferring or shifting; that is, transferring a right from one person’s liability to another’s. It refers to the transfer of a right from one person to another. For example, someone is owed one hundred dirhams by me, while I am owed one hundred dirhams by Zayd. He comes to demand the right that I owe him, so I say to him, “I transfer you, in respect of it, to Zayd.” Thus, I have transferred the right from my own liability—as the one from whom payment is being sought—to the liability of another man, namely the one from whom I am seeking payment.

It is part of proper payment and proper collection of debts, because if the transferee accepts, he may thereby make matters easier for the transferor. Likewise, when the transferor transfers the creditor to someone else for the debt owed to him, this is an act of facilitation, since the transferor may be insolvent and transfer him to someone who is solvent.

It is also an act of kindness and good dealing when it makes matters easier and more manageable for the legally accountable person.

As for its ruling in the Shariah, it is permissible; indeed, it is recommended, and some scholars even consider it obligatory, subject to certain conditions. The evidence for its permissibility is the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: “Whoever is transferred, regarding his debt, to a solvent person, let him accept the transfer” (1). This is a foundational proof for the permissibility of debt transfer, but it has conditions:

The first condition is mentioned by the author in his statement: