Originally posted 2019-09-12 12:02:01.

The Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) asked Allah to settle the debt for him.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) even used to ask Allah a lot for this.

I’ve just told you about the hadith that was reported by Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurayrah

that when the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) went to bed,

he would sleep on his right side, then he would say: “O Allah, Lord of the seven heavens and the Exalted Throne… to the end of the hadith.

At the end of this duaa he would say “Settle my debt and grant me from Your bounty.”

“Settle my debt” was the very du`aa’ the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to say before he would go to sleep.

“Settle my debt”.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) would even go to such a degree

that he would seek refuge in Allah from debt; to distance him from debt.

Even when he mounts his camel, he would ask Allah to pay off his debt for him.

Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported in their Sahihs that it was narrated from Anas ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)

would often say “O Allah, I seek refuge in You from sadness, grief, helplessness, laziness,

being stingy, overwhelming debt, and the overpowering of men.”

“Overwhelming debt” means its intensity and hardness.

Did you hear what Anas said?

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) supplicated frequently:

Al-Bukhari in his Sahih reported that `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him)

would recite this supplication in his prayer: “O Allah, I seek refuge with You from sin and debt.”

Someone asked him: “O Messenger of Allah,

why is it that you so often seek refuge from debt?!” He (peace be upon him) said: ” When a (person) incurs debt,

he is obliged) to tell lies and break promise.”

This how the Prophet (peace be upon him) dealt with the issue of debt.

He would seek refuge in his God from debt, its intensity and hardness

And when the Prophet went to bed, he used to ask his Lord to pay it off for him.

This is how he (peace be upon him) dealt with debt.

But how his Ummah deal with the issue of debts now!

We, in all conscience, get into debt to buy a house,

to buy a car, to furnish our homes, to marry,

to go on vacation, to make the sacrifice of `Eid

And, moreover, we find someone, despite having the money to buy a thing

yet he chooses to buy it on credit.

Indeed, it is folly for someone to get involved in that.

Feeling easy about incurring debt is far from what we’ve just mentioned about the Prophet

who (peace be upon him) even warned against debt!

He would do so frequently. Imam Ahmad narrated an important hadith from Jabir Ibn Abdullah.

He reported that after the death of a man, he was washed, shrouded, embalmed, and brought to the Prophet (peace be upon him)

so that he might lead the funeral prayer for him, and we invited the Prophet to perform the funeral prayer.

The Prophet came in, took a few steps, stopped and asked: “Is he in debt?”

We said: “Yes, two Dinars.” So, he moved back.

He did not want to lead the funeral prayer upon the man. In another narration, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Lead the prayer of your friend.”

This means: that the prophet wouldn’t lead the funeral prayer for a man who owed a debt and said, “You lead the prayer of your friend!”

Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) undertook to pay off the man’s debt.

Abu Qatadah said: “O Messenger of Allah, I will take care of the two dinars (the debt).”

He (peace be upon him) said, “The creditor will be paid and the deceased will become debt-free?”

Abu Qatadah said “yes”. The Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed the funeral prayer upon him.

The following day, the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked Abu Qatadah: “What happened with the two dinars?”

He replied, “O Allah’s Messenger, he only died yesterday.”

The next day, the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked him the same question and Abu Qatadah informed him that they had been paid off.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said “It is now only that his skin has cooled down.”

Listen up, people!

It is now only that his skin has cooled down after his debt was paid off.

It means that if a person died without paying off his/her debt, their skin will not cool down until the debt is paid off.

Debt is a very serious matter.

Ibn Majah narrated from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them)

that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever dies owing a Dinar or a Dirham, it will be paid back from

his good deeds, because then there will be no Dinar or Dirham.”

It has been reported by Muslim in his Sahih on the authority of Amr ibn Al-Aas

that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “All the sins of a Shahid (martyr) are forgiven except debt.”

Can You Imagine? The martyr who sacrificed himself!

who willingly sacrificed his soul for the sake of Allah,

all his sins are forgiven except debt.

It is really a very serious matter. Isn’t it?

Imam Muslim narrated from Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stood up among them

and said that faith in Allah and striving in His Cause (Jihad) are deeds of the highest merit. Then a man stood up and said: “O Messenger of Allah,

tell me if I am killed in the Cause of Allah, will all my sins be forgiven?”

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Yes, if you are killed in the Cause of Allah while you are patient, hopeful of your reward and marching forward not retreating.”

Then the Prophet said to him, “Repeat what you have said.” The man said: “Tell me if I am killed in the Cause of Allah, will all my sins be remitted?”

He replied, “Yes, if you are martyred while you are patient, hopeful of your reward and march forward without retreating, unless, if you owe any debt, that will not be remitted.

Angel Jibril told me that”.

while you are patient, hopeful of your reward and march forward without retreating, unless, if you owe any debt.

It is really a very serious matter!

So, people should never feel easy about debt.

So, this is how our religion views debt and you have the intention to pay it back.

Those who go into debt and don’t plan to pay off have gone astray, this is much worse.

Al-Bukhari in his Sahih mentioned that Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) 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.”

In a more worrying hadith, At-Tabari narrated in his Al-Mu’jam as-Saghir that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Any man marries a woman and names a dowry, large or small, and doesn’t intend to pay her,

deceiving her, he will meet Allah (on the Day of Judgment) as a zani (adulterer), and any man borrows money

which he doesn’t intend to pay it back to the lender, deceiving him, he will meet Allah (on the Day of Judgment) as a thief.

There’re several hadiths on related issues.

And it’s a great reminder for him who has a heart, or gives ear with a present mind.