Loans, Payment of Loans, Freezing of Property, Bankruptcy

Muhammad narrated to us: Jarir informed us, from al-Mughira, from al-Sha'bi, from Jabir ibn Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: I went on a military expedition with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He said, ‘What do you think of your camel? Will you sell it to me?’ I said, ‘Yes,’ and sold it to him. When he arrived in Medina, I brought the camel to him the next morning, and he gave me its price.

Mualla ibn Asad narrated to us: Abd al-Wahid narrated to us: al-A'mash narrated to us, saying: We were discussing pledges in advance-payment sales in the presence of Ibrahim. He said: al-Aswad told me, from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) bought food from a Jew on deferred payment and pledged an iron coat of mail to him.

Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah al-Uwaysi narrated to us: Sulayman ibn Bilal narrated to us, from Thawr ibn Zayd, from Abu al-Ghayth, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘Whoever takes people’s wealth intending to repay it, Allah will help him repay it; and whoever takes it intending to squander it, Allah will ruin him.’

Ahmad ibn Yunus narrated to us: Abu Shihab narrated to us, from al-A'mash, from Zayd ibn Wahb, from Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he looked toward Uhud and said: ‘I would not like to have this mountain turned into gold for me if a dinar of it were to remain with me for more than three days, except for a dinar I set aside to repay a debt.’ Then he said: ‘Those who possess the most wealth will have the least [on the Day of Resurrection], except those who spend their wealth like this and this.’ Abu Shihab gestured in front of him, to his right, and to his left. ‘And how few they are!’ He said, ‘Stay where you are.’ He went a short distance ahead. I heard a sound and intended to go to him, but remembered his words, ‘Stay where you are until I come to you.’ When he returned, I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, what I heard—or the sound I heard…’ He asked, ‘Did you hear it?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Gabriel (peace be upon him) came to me and said: Whoever from your community dies without associating anything with Allah will enter Paradise.’ I asked, ‘Even if he did such-and-such?’ He said, ‘Yes.’

Ahmad ibn Shabib ibn Sa'id narrated to us: My father narrated to us, from Yunus. Ibn Shihab said: Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah ibn Utba told me that Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘If I had gold equal to Mount Uhud, it would not please me to let three days pass while any of it remained with me, except an amount that I set aside to repay a debt.’ Salih and Uqayl also narrated it from al-Zuhri.

Abu al-Walid narrated to us: Shu'ba narrated to us: Salama ibn Kuhayl informed us, saying: I heard Abu Salama relate in our house, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), that a man demanded repayment from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) harshly. His Companions were about to react, but he said: ‘Leave him, for the creditor has the right to speak. Buy a camel for him and give it to him.’ They said, ‘We can find only one better than his in age.’ He said: ‘Buy it and give it to him, for the best of you are those who repay in the best manner.’

Muslim narrated to us: Shu'ba narrated to us, from Abd al-Malik, from Rib'i, from Hudhayfa (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘A man died, and he was asked, “What did you used to do?” He replied, “I used to deal with people: I would be lenient with one who had means and make things easier for one in hardship.” So he was forgiven.’ Abu Mas'ud said: I heard it from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Musaddad narrated to us, from Yahya, from Sufyan, who said: Salama ibn Kuhayl told me, from Abu Salama, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) demanding a camel owed to him. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Give him one.’ They said, ‘We can find only one better in age than his.’ The man said, ‘You have fulfilled my due; may Allah fulfill yours.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Give it to him, for among the best of people are those who repay in the best manner.’

Abu Nu'aym narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from Salama, from Abu Salama, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: A man was owed a camel of a particular age by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he came to demand it. The Prophet said, ‘Give him one.’ They looked for a camel of that age but found only one older. He said, ‘Give it to him.’ The man said, ‘You have fulfilled my due; may Allah fulfill your due.’ The Prophet said, ‘The best of you are those who repay in the best manner.’

Khallad narrated to us: Mis'ar narrated to us: Muharib ibn Dithar narrated to us, from Jabir ibn Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was in the mosque. Mis'ar said, ‘I think he said it was midmorning.’ He said, ‘Pray two rak'ahs.’ I was owed a debt by him, and he repaid me and gave me something extra.

Abdan narrated to us: Abd Allah informed us: Yunus informed us, from al-Zuhri, who said: Ibn Ka'b ibn Malik told me that Jabir ibn Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with them both) related to him: His father was killed as a martyr on the day of Uhud, and he owed a debt. His creditors pressed him hard for their claims. I went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who asked them to accept the dates from my orchard and release my father from the debt, but they refused. The Prophet did not hand my orchard over to them. He said, ‘We will come to you in the morning.’ He came to us in the morning, went around among the palm trees, and prayed for blessing in their fruit. I harvested the dates and repaid the creditors, and some dates remained for us.

Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir narrated to us: Anas narrated to us, from Hisham, from Wahb ibn Kaysan, from Jabir ibn Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with them both), who related that his father had died owing thirty awsuq to a Jewish man. Jabir asked him for more time to repay, but he refused. Jabir asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to intercede with him. The Messenger of Allah went to him and asked him to accept the dates from Jabir’s palm orchard in settlement of what he was owed, but he refused. The Messenger of Allah entered the orchard and walked among the palms, then said to Jabir, ‘Harvest for him and give him what he is owed.’ After the Messenger of Allah had left, Jabir harvested the dates, paid him thirty awsuq, and had seventeen awsuq left over. Jabir went to the Messenger of Allah to tell him what had happened, and found him praying the afternoon prayer. When he finished, Jabir told him about the surplus. He said, ‘Tell Ibn al-Khattab about that.’ Jabir went to Umar and told him. Umar said, ‘I knew, when the Messenger of Allah walked through it, that it would surely be blessed.’

Abu al-Yaman informed us: Shu'ayb narrated to us, from al-Zuhri. (A second chain:) Isma'il narrated to us, saying: My brother told me, from Sulayman, from Muhammad ibn Abi Atiq, from Ibn Shihab, from Urwa, that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) informed him that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to supplicate during prayer: ‘O Allah, I seek refuge in You from sin and from debt.’ Someone asked him, ‘How often you seek refuge from debt, Messenger of Allah!’ He replied: ‘When a person is in debt, he speaks and lies, and makes a promise and breaks it.’

Abu al-Walid narrated to us: Shu'ba narrated to us, from Adi ibn Thabit, from Abu Hazim, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘Whoever leaves property, it belongs to his heirs; and whoever leaves dependents in need, their care is our responsibility.’

Abd Allah ibn Muhammad narrated to us: Abu Amir narrated to us: Fulayh narrated to us, from Hilal ibn Ali, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Amra, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘There is no believer over whom I do not have greater claim than he has over himself, in this world and the Hereafter. Recite, if you wish: “The Prophet has a greater claim on the believers than they have on themselves” (Qur'an 33:6). If any believer dies and leaves property, let his male-line heirs inherit it, whoever they may be. But if he leaves a debt or dependents without support, let them come to me, for I am their guardian.’

Musaddad narrated to us: Abd al-A'la narrated to us, from Ma'mar, from Hammam ibn Munabbih, the brother of Wahb ibn Munabbih, who heard Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) say: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘A wealthy person’s delay in repaying what is due is wrongdoing.’

Musaddad narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us, from Shu'ba, from Salama, from Abu Salama, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) demanding repayment and spoke harshly to him. The Prophet’s Companions were about to act against him, but he said: ‘Leave him, for the one who holds a right is entitled to speak.’

Ahmad ibn Yunus narrated to us: Zuhayr narrated to us: Yahya ibn Sa'id narrated to us, saying: Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm informed me that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz informed him that Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham informed him that he heard Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) say: The Messenger of Allah said—or, I heard the Messenger of Allah say: ‘Whoever finds his very property with a person who has become bankrupt has a greater right to it than anyone else.’

Ahmad ibn Yunus narrated to us: Zuhayr narrated to us: Yahya ibn Sa'id narrated to us, saying: Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm informed me that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz informed him that Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham informed him that he heard Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) say: The Messenger of Allah said—or, I heard the Messenger of Allah say: ‘Whoever finds his very property with a person who has become bankrupt has a greater right to it than anyone else.’