Fiqh al-Adiyah wa-al-Adhkar - Abd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr - (3/199)

Fiqh al-Adiyah wa-al-AdhkarAbd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr

154 / WHAT A PERSON IN DEBT SHOULD SAY

Here, Allah willing, we shall discuss the supplication that it is recommended for a Muslim to make when he is in debt. Al-Tirmidhī narrated in his Sunan from Ali ibn Abī Tālib—may Allah be pleased with him—“A man under a contract of manumission came to him and said, ‘I am unable to meet my contractual obligation, so help me.’ He replied, ‘Shall I not teach you words that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—taught me? Even if you owed a debt as great as Mount Thabīr, Allah would discharge it for you.’ He then said, ‘Say: O Allah, make what You have permitted sufficient for me so that I have no need of what You have forbidden, and through Your bounty make me independent of everyone besides You.’” 1.

This is a magnificent supplication for someone who is in debt and unable to repay it. If he recites it and gives it due attention, Allah will discharge his debt, however large it may be—even if it is as great as a mountain, as stated in the hadith. All ease lies in Allah’s hand, and His treasuries—Glorified is He—are full and undiminished by spending. Whoever seeks refuge in Him, He will suffice him; and whoever seeks His help, He will aid and guide him.

This man under a contract of manumission came to Ali—may Allah be pleased with him—complaining of his inability to pay the sum he had undertaken to give his master in exchange for his freedom. Ali—may Allah be pleased with him—therefore directed him to this magnificent supplication, which he had heard from the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He explained its immense benefit and the great reward it brings to the one who recites it, and that Allah will discharge his debt, however large it may be. He said, “Shall I not teach you words that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—taught me? Even if you owed a debt as great as Mount Thabīr, Allah would discharge it for you.” This powerfully arouses the listener’s interest, encourages him, and urges him to recite this blessed supplication regularly, so that he may be freed from the debt he has incurred and from the anxiety that has troubled and preoccupied him.

(1) Sunan al-Tirmidhī, no. 3563; al-Albānī (may Allah have mercy on him) graded it hasan in Sahīh al-Targhīb, no. 1820.

١٥٤ / مَا يَقُولُهُ مَنْ عَلَيْهِ دَيْنٌ الكلام هنا سيكون بإذن الله عن الدُّعاءِ الذي يستحب للمسلمِ أن يدعوَ به إذا كان عليه دَيْنٌ، روى الترمذي في سننه عن علي بن أبي طالب ﵁: " أَنَّ مُكَاتَباً جَاءَهُ فَقَالَ: إنِّي قَدْ عَجَزْتُ عَنْ كِتَابَتِي، فَأَعِنِّي قَالَ: ألاَ أُعَلِّمُكَ كَلِمَاتٍ عَلَّمَنِيهِنَّ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ لَوْ كَانَ عَلَيْكَ مِثْلُ جَبَلِ ثَبِيرٍ دَيْناً أَدَّاهُ اللهُ عَنْكَ قَالَ: قُلْ اللَّهُمَّ اكْفِنِي بِحَلاَلِكَ عَنْ حَرَامِكَ، وَأَغْنِنِي بِفَضْلِكَ عَمَّنْ سِوَاكَ" ١. فهذا دعاءٌ عظيم يقولُه مَن عليه دينٌ وهو عاجزٌ عن أدائه، فإذا قالَه واعتنى به أدَّاه اللهُ عنه مهما كان حجمُ الدَّين، ولو كان مثلَ الجبل، كما مَرَّ في الحديث؛ لأنَّ التيسيرَ بيد الله، وخزائنه سبحانه ملأَى لا يَغيظها نفقة، فمَن التَجَأ إليه كفاه، ومَن طلب العونَ منه أعانه وهداه. وهذا المكاتَب جاء إلى علي ﵁ يشكو عجزَه وعدم قُدرته على أداء ما تَحمَّلَه من مال لسيِّده ليعتقه، فأرشدَه ﵁ إلى هذا الدعاء العظيم الذي سمعَه من رسول الله ﷺ، وبيَّن له عظمَ فائدته وكبر عائدته على قائله، وأنَّ الله يقضي عنه دينَه مهما كثُر، قال: "ألاَ أعلِّمُك كلمات عَلَّمَنِيهنَّ رسولُ الله ﷺ، لو كان عليك مثل جبل ثبير دَيْناً أدَّاه الله عنك"، وهذا فيه تشويقٌ عظيمٌ وترغيبٌ للسَّامع، وحثٌّ على المواظبة على هذا الدعاء المبارك؛ ليتخَلَّص العبد من الدَّين الذي تَحمَّله، ومن هَمِّه الذي كدَّر بالَه وأشغله.

١ سنن الترمذي (رقم:٣٥٦٣) ، وحسَّنه الألباني ﵀ في صحيح الترغيب (رقم:١٨٢٠) .