Intending Zakaat for an unpaid loan

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Nasihah (Advice): Seeking refuge from debt

 

Aaisha Radhiallahu Anha mentions that Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam used to often seek refuge (with Allah) from debt and sin. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, how often you seek refuge from debt!’ He said: ‘Whoever gets into debt speaks and lies, and makes promises and breaks them.’ (Nasaai)

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Question and Answer:

 

1. Can I make an intention of Zakaat for a loan that I had given to a poor person five years ago?

 

1. A.For a person’s Zakaat to be discharged, it is necessary for a person to make an intention of Zakaat at the time of discharging it and not afterwards. (Fathul Qadeer 2/170) Hence, if a creditor had given a loan to his debtor (a Zakaat recipient), the creditors Zakaat will not be discharged if his intention was of a loan and not of Zakaat.

 

In such a case, a person cannot discharge his Zakaat that was intended as a loan and not of Zakaat.

 

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

 

Mufti Ismaeel Bassa

Confirmation:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai