yes—three dinars.” At that he stepped back and said, “Pray over your companion.” The change in the people’s faces was obvious. Then Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) rose and said, “Pray over him, O Messenger of Allah, and the debt is on me.” Abu Qatadah assumed full responsibility, whereupon the Prophet ﷺ advanced and led the funeral prayer.

This incident proves how serious a matter debt is, and that a person should not borrow unless compelled by necessity. One must not go into debt for a wedding, or to build a house, or for household luxuries—such behavior is sheer folly. Allah the Exalted says: “And let those who cannot find the means to marry keep themselves chaste until Allah enriches them out of His bounty” (al-Nur 24:33). If this is the ruling with respect to marriage, then how much more so for matters far less important.

Many ignorant people borrow to buy, for example, a carpet for the staircase, or for the courtyard, or an electric gate, and the like, even though they are poor. Purchasing something on deferred payment is a debt, for in scholarly usage a debt is anything that becomes binding upon one’s liability—whether the price of a sale, a loan, rent, or anything else. So beware of debt; guard yourselves against it, for it can ruin you—except in a case of true necessity, and that is another matter. As long as you have sufficient means, do not borrow.

Many people, for instance, borrow forty thousand; when the due date arrives they say, “I have nothing,” so they borrow sixty thousand to cover the forty they owe, then borrow again the following year, and the debts accumulate without their even noticing. Allah is the One who grants success.