Since they deem consent indispensable, they do not take the ḥadith at its surface meaning so as to impose an obligation; in their view following the referral is merely recommended and encouraged.

Imām Aḥmad and his followers, the Ẓāhirīs, Abū Thawr, and Ibn Jarīr, however, hold that the command denotes obligation, leaving the ḥadith on its apparent sense: anyone whose claim is transferred to a solvent party must accept the transfer.

If the hawālah is made to someone who is not solvent, the Ẓāhirīs declare it invalid because it fails to match the condition approved by the Lawgiver—namely solvency. The Ḥanbalīs, by contrast, regard it as valid, for the right belongs to the transferee and he has consented. They then disagree over whether, in that case, the transferee may revert to the transferor; the matter contains several opinions and details.

Hadith 1
Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Postponing payment by one who is able is an act of injustice, and when any of you is referred to a solvent debtor, let him follow the referral.”

Lexical notes
• matl (delay): The root sense of matl is stretching; one says, “mataltu al-ḥadīdah” (I stretched the iron bar) when one lengthens it. In the ḥadith it means postponing payment of a debt that has fallen due without excuse. The phrase is a verbal noun annexed to its doer—the delaying of a wealthy person toward his creditor is injustice.
• uttubiʿa (he is referred): with ḍammah on the hamzah, sukūn on the tāʾ, and kasrah on the bāʾ; it is passive and means “he is transferred (by way of hawālah).”
• maliʾ (solvent): with quiescence on the yāʾ. Linguistically it is a wealthy person capable of payment. Juristically a maliʾ is solvent in three respects:
– in wealth: he possesses the means to pay;
– in person: he can be produced before the court;
– in word: he is not a procrastinator.
• fal-yatbaʿ (let him follow): with fatḥah on the yāʾ and sukūn on the tāʾ; it means “let him accept the referral.”

Overall meaning
This noble ḥadith establishes proper etiquette in financial dealings. The Prophet ﷺ commands the debtor to repay promptly and guides the creditor toward courteous collection. He clarifies that when the creditor asks for his due—even by hint or context—any delay by a solvent debtor is injustice, for it bars the creditor from his right without excuse. That injustice is removed when the debtor transfers the claim to a solvent person from whom the creditor can easily obtain payment, and in that case the creditor should accept the transfer.