if a believer died with debts outstanding, the Messenger of Allah would ask whether he had left behind anything to pay off his debts. If they said yes, he would pray for him, but if they said no, he would say: "Pray for your companion." Then, when Allah made His Messenger rich through conquest, he said: "I am closer to the believers than their own selves. Whoever dies and leaves behind a debt, I will pay it, and whoever leavers behind wealth, it is for his heirs."
Hadith Commentary: The Believer's Debt Responsibility
This noble hadith from Sunan an-Nasa'i (1963) establishes the profound responsibility Muslims bear regarding financial obligations and the elevated status of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) as the guardian of the Ummah.
Initial Practice: Conditional Funeral Prayer
The Prophet's initial practice of inquiring about deceased believers' debts demonstrates that fulfilling financial rights (huquq al-'ibad) takes precedence over mere ritual. The funeral prayer (salat al-janazah) is a collective supplication for mercy, and its conditional nature emphasizes that unresolved debts constitute an injustice that may hinder divine forgiveness.
Scholars explain that when the Prophet (ﷺ) instructed "Pray for your companion" instead of leading the prayer himself, it indicated the deceased's spiritual state was compromised by unpaid obligations to others, requiring the community's intercession rather than prophetic endorsement.
Divine Provision and Expanded Responsibility
The转折点 occurred when Allah enriched the Muslim community through conquest (fay'), enabling the Prophet (ﷺ) to declare: "I am closer to the believers than their own selves." This statement affirms his role as the ultimate guardian (awla) who assumes responsibility where individual Muslims fall short.
Classical commentators note this declaration established the Bayt al-Mal (public treasury) as responsible for settling debts of deceased Muslims who left insufficient assets, ensuring no believer meets Allah burdened by others' financial rights.
Legal and Spiritual Implications
This hadith establishes that heirs must settle the deceased's debts before distributing inheritance, as the Prophet's assumption of debt payment was a communal safety net, not an abolition of personal responsibility.
The spiritual lesson emphasizes that financial obligations are sacred trusts, and Muslims should strive to die free from others' claims against them, as the Prophet (ﷺ) stated in another narration: "The soul of a believer is suspended by his debt until it is paid on his behalf."