Fatwa ID: 02707

Answered by: Maulana Imran Mughal​

Question:

Assalamualaikum

Salam, I need to ask a question.

1) I gave zakat to my debtor who is liable for zakat and from which after that he paid me the part of the debt he owed me (without me asking) from that zakat money I gave him.

2) The debt he owed me was an investment, where I gave him money and he used it in his business, and he used it to give me a return every month. We agreed to do this for about 12 months after which he was going to give me the full amount I invested. Eventually, after a year, he started to struggle to give me the monthly payment, so after a little while, we decided that every time he pays me from now onwards, I will reduce the amount from the initial money I invested rather than counting it as a return. He paid more or less half of the investment so basically, he owes me part of my initial investment. Over a couple of years, I did make some money on the returns he used to give me and probably has given me more than my money invested.

My question is have I done anything wrong in taking this money from my debtor? Jazakallah

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Answer:

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuh,

It is permissible to give zakat money to your debtor, after which he returns the money back to you in return for the loan he took from you.^[1]

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Imran Mughal

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

^[1] Ibn Hujaym, Al-Bahr ar-Ra’iq(Beirut: DKI Publishers, 1997), 2:424.

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