repay, yet they procrastinate—may Allah protect us. It is authentically reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Delaying payment when one is able is an act of injustice.”

Understand that debt is not, as many people imagine, limited to purchasing goods on credit at a higher price. Every financial obligation recorded against you is a debt: a loan, an advance, the rent of a house, the hire of a car—anything that becomes due in your account. Once it falls due, you must hurry to settle it.

This ḥadith also proves the permissibility of appointing an agent to distribute whatever a person is obliged to apportion, for he ﷺ said, “So I ordered that it be divided,” and he instructed that it be distributed. Agency is permissible in every duty that admits representation, whether it concerns Allah’s rights—such as Hajj or the payment of zakah—or human rights, like selling, buying, pledging, and similar transactions.

In short, the ḥadith urges us to hasten toward good deeds and never treat them lightly. If you accustom your soul to negligence, it will grow accustomed to it; but if you train it to be resolute, active, and proactive, that too will become its habit. I ask Allah, exalted is He, to help me and you to remember Him, to thank Him, and to worship Him in the best manner.