Chapter on the Rulings of Guarantee (ḍamān)

Among the Sharia-based methods of securing a debt is the guarantee. The word ḍamān is derived, according to one view, from ḍ-min (inclusion), because the guarantor’s liability becomes incorporated into that of the person on whose behalf he stands. Others say it comes from taḍammun (to contain), since the guarantor’s liability comes to contain the guaranteed right. A third opinion traces it to ḍamm (joining), for the guarantor’s liability is joined to that of the principal debtor, so that the obligation rests upon both of them together.

Legally, a guarantee means: undertaking to discharge what is owed by someone else, while the debt still remains due from the original debtor; it may also involve undertaking what will become due in the future—for example, saying, “Whatever you give so-and-so, it is on me.”

Guarantee is permissible by evidence from the Quran, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus.

Allah, Exalted is He, says: “And whoever brings it shall receive a camel-load [in reward]; and I am surety for it.” (Quran 12:72)

Al-Tirmidhi narrates—traced back to the Prophet—“The guarantor is liable,” meaning: he bears the responsibility for the debt.