Al-Muqaddimāt al-Mumahhidāt - Ibn Rush al-Jadd - (2/305)

Al-Muqaddimāt al-MumahhidātIbn Rush al-Jadd

manage to repay it before his death, the ruler must repay it on his behalf from the Muslim public treasury, from the share of zakat allocated to debtors, or from all the zakat funds—if he considers that appropriate, following the position of Mālik and those who hold that allocating all zakat to a single category of recipients fulfils the obligation. It has also been said that a deceased person’s debt may not be repaid from zakat. According to this view, the ruler must repay the debts of those who die indebted from the public treasury, using revenues acquired without fighting, which are lawful for rich and poor alike.

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Every debtor must direct in his will that his debt be repaid. If he does so and leaves sufficient wealth to cover it, he will not be barred from Paradise because of his debt. Likewise, if he does not leave enough to repay it, the ruler must discharge it on his behalf from the Muslim public treasury or from the share Allah has prescribed for debtors in zakat. If the ruler fails to do so, he is the one accountable. The debtor will not be barred from Paradise because of his debt if he was unable to repay it during his lifetime and directed that it be repaid after his death.

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sought refuge from debt, saying: “O Allah, I seek refuge in You from sin and debt.” ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “Beware of debt, for it begins with anxiety and ends in ruin.”

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Anyone who owes a debt but has no wealth with which to repay it must be granted the respite prescribed by Allah Most High until he becomes solvent. He is not to be imprisoned, hired out, made to serve, or put to work, for the debt attaches only to his liability; he therefore cannot lawfully be hired out to repay it. Ibn al-Mawwāz said that this applies whether he is a free man or a slave authorized to trade. This is the position of Mālik and the majority of scholars, contrary to Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s view that an insolvent debtor may be hired out to repay his debt. The evidence supporting Mālik’s position, may Allah have mercy on him, is the saying of Allah, Mighty and Majestic:

“If someone is in hardship, then let there be a postponement until a time of ease.” [Al-Baqarah: 280]

This means: if there is a person in

يقدر على أدائه حتى توفي، فعلى الإمام أن يؤدي ذلك عنه من بيت مال المسلمين، أو من سهم الغارمين من الصدقات، أو من الصدقات كلها- إن رأى ذلك على مذهب مالك، ومن يرى أنه إن جعل الزكاة كلها في صنف واحد، أجزأه، وقد قيل: لا يجوز أن يؤدى دين الميت من الزكاة، فعلى هذا القول إنما يؤدي الإمام دين من مات وعليه دين من بيت المال من الفيء الحلال للفقير والغني. فصل وواجب على كل ذي دين أن يوصي بأدائه، فإذا فعل وترك من المال ما يفي بدينه، فليس بمحبوس عن الجنة من أجل دينه؛ وكذلك إن لم يترك وفاء دينه، فعلى الإمام أن يؤديه عنه من بيت المسلمين، أو مما فرض الله في الزكاة للغارمين، فإن لم يفعل، فهو المسئول عن ذلك وليس صاحب الدين بمحبوس عن الجنة من أجل دينه إذا لم يقدر على أدائه في حياته وأوصى بأدائه بعد مماته. وقد استعاذ رسول الله ﷺ من الدين فقال: «اللهم إني أعوذ بك من المأثم والمغرم» وقال عمر بن الخطاب ﵁: إياكم والدين فإن أوله هم، وآخره حرب. فصل ومن كان عليه دين ولم يكن له مال يؤديه منه، فهو في نظرة الله تعالى إلى أن يوسر، ولا يحبس ولا يؤاجر ولا يستخدم ولا يستعمل؛ لأن الدين إنما تعلق بذمته، فلا يصح أن يؤاجر فيه. قال ابن المواز حرا كان أو عبدا: مأذونا له في التجارة وهذا قول مالك وجمهور أهل العلم، خلافا لأحمد بن حنبل في قوله: إن المعسر يؤاجر في الدَّين، والدليل على صحة ما ذهب إليه مالك ﵀، قول الله ﷿: ﴿وَإِنْ كَانَ ذُو عُسْرَةٍ فَنَظِرَةٌ إِلَى مَيْسَرَةٍ﴾ [البقرة: ٢٨٠]، معناه إن حضر ذو