Chapter on the Transfer of Debt

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

What about someone who transferred a debt against a dower that was immediately payable, then collected payment from the new debtor? Is the transfer valid in these circumstances? Is this receipt of payment valid, discharging the new debtor’s liability? May the creditor demand repayment from the transferor of the amount collected?

He answered:

Praise be to Allah. Yes, the transfer is valid provided its conditions are met. The transferor has no right to collect the transferred debt after the transfer, and payment to the transferor does not discharge the new debtor’s liability unless the creditor instructed that payment be made in this way.

The creditor may demand payment from either the new debtor, to recover the debt charged to him, or the person who collected his debt without his permission. Even if the wrongful taker’s unauthorized receipt is comparable to the wrongful seizure of jointly owned property, setting apart a specific portion through wrongful seizure is like partition; thus, he has no right to demand partition from the wrongful taker.

The new debtor may recover from the transferor whatever the latter collected from him without right. However, the opposing party may require the person in whose favor the acknowledgment was made to swear that its true substance accords with its outward terms. And Allah knows best.