Lesson 1 of 6 · Money worry is not the same as being bad with money
What the tradition actually says about being in debt
This needs to be read as one piece rather than in fragments, because the fragments get used as weapons.
The tradition takes unpaid debt seriously. There is a report that the believer's soul remains suspended by his debt until it is settled, and another that all the sins of a martyr are forgiven except debt. Those two get sent to people in the middle of a crisis and they terrify them, which increases exactly the avoidance that keeps the debt where it is.
Now the rest of the same picture, which almost never gets sent. There is the report that whoever takes people's money intending to repay it, Allah repays it on his behalf, and whoever takes it in order to destroy it, Allah destroys him. The line there is intention, not the existence of the debt. If you borrowed in good faith and cannot currently pay, that report is on your side and not against you.
And the Qur'an, in the middle of the passage on riba, instructs the creditor. If someone is in hardship, then there must be postponement until a time of ease, and remitting the debt as charity is better. The Qur'an puts the obligation on the person owed. It positions you as somebody who is owed time.
The tradition then attaches a reward to giving that time. Whoever would like Allah to shade him with His shade, let him give respite to one in difficulty, or waive the loan. The incentive sits on the creditor. Nothing in that sentence is asked of you.
There is a warmer report still, and it is one of the least quoted things in this whole subject. If somebody dies leaving property, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, the property goes to his heirs; and if he leaves a debt or dependants, we will take care of them.
Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity, and that is a statement about what you are required to carry, not a demand that you cope silently.
Qur’an and Sunnah
Here the Qur'an instructs the creditor rather than you. If the debtor is in difficulty, delay things, and writing it off is better still. It positions you as somebody who is owed time.
وَإِن كَانَ ذُو عُسۡرَةࣲ فَنَظِرَةٌ إِلَىٰ مَيۡسَرَةࣲۚ وَأَن تَصَدَّقُواْ خَيۡرࣱ لَّكُمۡ إِن كُنتُمۡ تَعۡلَمُونَ
If the debtor is in difficulty, then delay things until matters become easier for him; still, if you were to write it off as an act of charity, that would be better for you, if only you knew
Qur’an 2:280
Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity. That is a statement about what you are required to carry, and not a demand that you cope silently with what you are carrying.
لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفۡسًا إِلَّا وُسۡعَهَاۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتۡ وَعَلَيۡهَا مَا ٱكۡتَسَبَتۡۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذۡنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوۡ أَخۡطَأۡنَاۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحۡمِلۡ عَلَيۡنَآ إِصۡرࣰ ا كَمَا حَمَلۡتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِنَاۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلۡنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦۖ وَٱعۡفُ عَنَّا وَٱغۡفِرۡ لَنَا وَٱرۡحَمۡنَآۚ أَنتَ مَوۡلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرۡنَا عَلَى ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡكَٰفِرِينَ
God does not burden any soul with more than it can bear: each gains whatever good it has done, and suffers its bad- ‘ Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or make mistakes. Lord, do not burden us as You burdened those before us. Lord, do not burden us with more than we have strength to bear. Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our Protector, so help us against the disbelievers.’
Qur’an 2:286
This is the rest of the picture, which almost never gets sent. The line it draws is intention, not the existence of the debt, so if you borrowed in good faith and cannot currently pay, this report is on your side.
Narrated Abu Huraira:The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever takes the money of the people with the intention of repaying it, Allah will repay it on his behalf, and whoever takes it in order to spoil it, then Allah will spoil him
Sahih al-Bukhari 2387graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading
One of the two reports that get sent to people in the middle of a crisis and terrify them, and it is here so you meet it inside the whole picture rather than on its own.
Abu Hurairah narrated that:The Messenger of Allah said: "The believer's soul is suspended by his debt until it is settled for him
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 1078graded sound, albanithe Arabic and its grading
Death in the way of Allah blots out everything except debt. This is the second of that pair, and it is shown for the same reason: these two are usually sent to somebody without the rest of the picture attached.
It has been reported on the authority of Amr b. al-'As through a different chain of transmitters that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:Death in the way of Allah blots out everything except debt
Sahih Muslim 1886graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading
The tradition attaches a reward to giving a debtor time, and the incentive sits on the creditor. Nothing in that sentence is asked of you.
It was narrated from Abu Yasar, the Companion of the Prophet (ﷺ) that :the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Whoever would like Allah to shade him with His shade, let him give respite to one in difficulty, or waive repayment of the loan.”
Sunan Ibn Majah 2419graded sound, albanithe Arabic and its grading
The warmest of these reports and one of the least quoted things in this whole subject. The debt and the dependants are taken on rather than left with the family.
Narrated Abu Huraira:The Prophet (ﷺ) said, " If somebody dies (among the Muslims) leaving some property, the property will go to his heirs; and if he leaves a debt or dependants, we will take care of them
Sahih al-Bukhari 6763graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading
Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford University Press, 2004.