Loan

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had borrowed a young camel from a man, so the man came to him demanding the repayment of this debt. The man made his demand in a very rude manner that vexed the Companions of the Prophet to the extent that they wanted to hit him because of his rudeness and harshness with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). However, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: Let him say whatever he wants and do not harm him in any way, for the one who has a right is entitled to demand his debtor to repay his debt and the like, yet he has to do so within the limits of courtesy. As for cursing, slandering, and insulting, they are not among the manners of the Muslims. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered some of the Companions to give the man a camel of the same age as his. They came back and said: We only found a camel that is older than his (and, thus, of more value). So he said: Give him a camel that is older than his camel, for indeed the best of you in dealing with people and the best in terms of reward are those who fulfill their obligations in the best of ways, whether it is the settlement of a debt or otherwise.

كنوز رياض الصالحين, بإشراف حمد العمار, دار كنوز إشبيليا, الطبعة الأولى, 1430هـ. نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، نشر: مؤسسة الرسالة، الطبعة: الرابعة عشر، 1407هـ 1987م. شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين، نشر: دار الوطن للنشر، الرياض، الطبعة: 1426هـ. بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، للهلالي، نشر: دار ابن الجوزي. صحيح البخاري، نشر: دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، الطبعة: الأولى، 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم، تحقيق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، نشر: دار إحياء التراث العربي - بيروت.

"A man from among those who were before you was called to account", i.e. a man from the previous nations was held accountable by Allah for the actions he had done. "No good deeds were found in his record", i.e. he had done no righteous deeds that bring one closer to Allah, the Almighty. "Except that he, being a rich man, used to enter into transactions with people", i.e. he used to conduct business transactions with them and give them loans. "And used to command his servants to show leniency towards those who were insolvent", i.e. he ordered his servants to be tolerant with those who cannot pay back their debts by giving them respite or by reducing their debt. "Allah, the Exalted, said: We are more entitled to this (leniency) than him. Pardon him", i.e. Allah forgave him as a reward for his kind treatment of people and his gentleness and leniency with them.

نزهة المتقين، تأليف: جمعٌ من المشايخ، الناشر: مؤسسة الرسالة، الطبعة الأولى، 1397 هـ. كنوز رياض الصالحين، تأليف: حمد بن ناصر بن العمار، الناشر: دار كنوز أشبيليا، الطبعة الأولى، 1430ه.ـ صحيح مسلم، تأليف: مسلم بن الحجاج النيسابوري، تحقيق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، الناشر: دار إحياء التراث العربي – بيروت. رياض الصالحين، تأليف: محيي الدين يحيى بن شرف النووي، تحقيق: د. ماهر بن ياسين الفحل، الطبعة الأولى، 1428هـ. بهجة الناظرين، تأليف: سليم بن عيد الهلالي، الناشر: دار ابن الجوزي، سنة النشر: 1418هـ - 1997م. التنوير شرح الجامع الصغير، تأليف: محمد بن إسماعيل الصنعاني، تحقيق: د/ محمد إسحاق محمد إبراهيم، الناشر: مكتبة دار السلام، الطبعة: الأولى، 1432هـ. التيسير بشرح الجامع الصغير، تأليف: محمد عبد الرؤوف بن زين العابدين المناوي، الناشر: مكتبة الإمام الشافعي، الطبعة: الثالثة، 1408هـ - 1988م.

Abu Qatādah al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) was searching for his debtor, who was hiding from him. When he found him, the debtor said: I am insolvent, and I have no money to repay your debt. Abu Qatādah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked him to swear by Allah that he had no money, and the man swore by Allah that he was telling the truth. Thereupon, Abu Qatādah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that he heard the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: Whoever is pleased and delighted to be saved by Allah from the agonies, tribulations, and horrors of the Day of Judgment, let him give an insolvent person respite by postponing or delaying the demand of payment or by reducing the debt or canceling it.

1. It is recommended to give the insolvent respite until it is easy for him to repay the debt or grant him full or partial remission.
2. Whoever relieves a believer of a distress of this life, Allah will relieve him of a distress on the Day of Judgment, as indeed, one reaps what he sows.
3. Rule: Obligatory acts are better than supererogatory ones. However, sometimes the supererogatory is better than the obligatory. Granting the insolvent remission is a supererogatory act, whereas granting him respite and waiting without demanding repayment is obligatory. Here, in this case, the supererogatory act is better than the obligatory act.
4. The Hadīth is about the insolvent, who has a valid excuse, but as for the procrastinating debtor who has money, it was reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Procrastination in payment of a debt by a rich person is injustice."

صحيح مسلم (3/ 1196) (1563). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي (2/ 457). الكاشف عن حقائق السنن(شرح المشكاة)، للطيبي (7/ 2172). كنوز رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (16/ 392). مرقاة المفاتيح شرح مشكاة المصابيح، للقاري (5/ 1954). نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (2/ 945).