Is it okay to borrow?

A debt (dayn) is anything you owe someone. A loan (qard) is money you take and give back in the same amount. First, the good news: you are allowed to borrow in Islam. There is no shame in it.

• Nabi ﷺ bought food and paid later. He left his iron armor with the seller as a guarantee until he paid¹.
• When he died, the seller still held his armor for some barley he owed². The best of people died owing a small debt.
• The longest ayah in the whole Quran is about debt. It teaches believers how to write a loan down³.

But debt is heavy. You owe it to people, and people must be paid back, in this life or the next.

• Nabi ﷺ said: a martyr is forgiven every sin, except debt⁴.
• He said: the soul of a believer is held back by his debt until someone pays it for him⁵.
• At first, he would not lead the janazah prayer (funeral prayer) for a man who died owing money and left nothing to pay it⁶. The full story is below.

Nabi ﷺ often asked Allah in his salah to protect him from debt. Someone asked him why he did this so often. He said: when a man is in debt, he speaks and lies, and he promises and breaks the promise⁷.

When should you borrow, and when not?

Islam does not tell you never to borrow. It asks you to borrow wisely. Borrow for a real need, or for something useful you can clearly pay back, with no interest. Think twice before you borrow:

• To show off. A bigger wedding, a newer car, a holiday to keep up with others. Allah says: do not keep your hand tied to your neck, and do not open it all the way, or you will end up blamed and sorry¹¹.
• With no plan to pay it back. If you cannot see how you will pay, wait if you can.
• For extra worship you do not have to do. An aqiqah, an extra Umrah or a big gift to charity is not worth a debt you cannot pay.

Loans with interest

Some loans make you pay back more than you borrowed, and this is part of the deal. That extra is riba (interest), and riba is haram. All scholars agree on this. See What riba is. Questions about credit cards, buy now pay later and other loans today are in Credit cards, buy now pay later and loans.

Do you truly mean to pay it back?

The most important thing about a debt is what you intend when you take it.

• Nabi ﷺ said: whoever takes people's money meaning to pay it back, Allah will pay it for him. And whoever takes it meaning to waste it, Allah will ruin him¹³.
• Maymunah, a wife of Nabi ﷺ, often borrowed money. Her family told her to stop. She said she heard Nabi ﷺ say: when a Muslim borrows, and Allah knows he means to pay it back, Allah pays it for him in this world¹⁴.

So if you are in debt and you truly mean to pay, Allah is on your side. But borrowing with no plan to pay, or hoping the lender forgets, is taking people's money.

Should you write a loan down?

Allah says: O you who believe, when you take a debt until a fixed date, write it down¹⁷. In the same long ayah He teaches:

• Let someone write it fairly. The person who owes says what to write, and leaves nothing out. Bring two witnesses.
• Do not get tired of writing it down, small or large, with the date it is due. This is fairer and leaves less room for doubt.

The next ayah says: if you are traveling and cannot find anyone to write, the borrower can hand over something valuable as a guarantee. And if you trust each other, the trusted person must give back what he was trusted with, and fear Allah¹⁸.

Do you have to write it down?

• Most scholars: it is a very good thing to do, but you do not have to, because the next ayah allows people to simply trust each other¹⁹.
• Some early scholars: you have to, because the ayah gives a clear command.

Either way, write it. People forget, and people die. A few lines can stop a family from fighting later.

How to do it today

• Write a short note: who lent, who borrowed, how much, and when it will be paid. Both of you sign it. Or both agree in a text message or email that you keep.
• Keep a list of what you owe and what others owe you. Put your debts in your will, so they are paid if you die. See Wills and inheritance.

How should you pay it back?

If you can pay, do not delay

• Nabi ﷺ said: when a rich person delays paying, he is wronging the lender²⁰. "Rich" here means anyone who has the money to pay.
• He also said: when a person who can pay keeps delaying, others may speak harshly about him and punish him²¹. Scholars explain this as complaining about him and taking him to a judge.
• A man came to Nabi ﷺ to ask for what he was owed, and he spoke rudely. The Companions wanted to stop him. Nabi ﷺ said: leave him. The person who is owed has the right to speak²².

Pay back generously

• Nabi ﷺ owed a man a young camel. They could only find an older, better camel. He said: give it to him. The best of you are those who pay back best²³²⁴.
• So giving back a little more, or something better, as a thank you, is a sunnah. But only if it was not part of the deal and not expected. If it was agreed at the start, it is riba.

What if you owe money and are struggling?

Being in debt is not a sin. Many good people are in debt. What matters is what you do now. Allah says: Allah does not put on anyone more than He has given them. Allah will bring ease after hardship²⁵.

A simple plan

• 1. Write it all down. Every debt: how much, to whom, and when it is due. Avoiding the number is what makes it grow.
• 2. Talk to the people you owe, early. Tell them the truth. Ask for more time, or smaller payments.
• 3. Never lie about it. This is the danger Nabi ﷺ warned about²⁶. Only promise what you really can do.
• 4. Decide what to pay first. Many people pay these first: debts that are already due, debts that charge interest (so the riba stops), and debts to people who are poor themselves. Keep paying for food, rent and your family's basic needs.
• 5. Spend less and sell what you do not need. Do not take a new interest loan to pay the old one.
• 6. Ask for help. People who cannot pay debts they took for a halal need are one of the eight groups who can receive zakat²⁷. Qabisa came to Nabi ﷺ in debt. Nabi ﷺ said he would give him some of the charity when it arrived²⁸. See Who receives zakat.
• 7. Make dua every day (see the end of this chapter).

If you are stuck in an interest loan

Many Muslims took one before they knew, or when they felt they had no choice. Do not lose hope. Ask Allah to forgive you, do not take new ones, and pay the old one off as fast as you reasonably can. Allah forgives the person who turns back to Him.

What if someone owes you?

Give more time to someone who is struggling

Allah says: if the person who owes is going through hardship, wait until things are easier for him. And if you let it go as charity, that is better for you, if only you knew²⁹.

• If the person truly cannot pay right now, you must give them more time. You are not allowed to pressure them, shame them, or add a late fee.
• Letting go of all or part of the debt is charity. For example, you can let go of half and wait for the rest.
• If the person can pay and keeps delaying, you have the right to ask, firmly and politely, and to go to court if needed³⁰.

The rewards

• Nabi ﷺ told of a trader who lent to people. When someone could not pay, he told his workers: let it go, maybe Allah will let our sins go. So Allah forgave him³¹.
• Abu Qatada found a man who had been hiding from him over a debt. The man swore he was going through hardship. Abu Qatada told him he heard Nabi ﷺ say: whoever wants Allah to save him from the hardships of the Day of Judgement, let him give more time to the person who is struggling, or let the debt go³².
• And: whoever makes things easy for someone who is struggling, Allah will make things easy for him in this world and the next³³.

How to ask for your money back

• Ask privately and kindly, not in front of others.
• Do not break family ties over money. If you cannot get it back, letting it go may bring you more than the money ever would.

Money that others owe you can change how much zakat you pay. See Zakat on money, gold and business.

What is a good loan (qard hasan)?

Qard hasan means "a good loan". You lend money with nothing extra on top, only to help, hoping for Allah's reward. The other person keeps their dignity, and you get your money back.

• Allah asks: who will lend Allah a good loan, so He multiplies it for him many times?³⁴. And: if you lend Allah a good loan, He will multiply it for you and forgive you³⁵. Scholars say helping people with a good loan is part of this.
• Helping a person out of a hard time is rewarded with ease on the Day of Judgement³⁶.
• Nabi ﷺ praised lending a milking animal to someone, so they can drink its milk and then give it back³⁷. Lending things, not only money, is a good deed.

Only lend what you can afford. Do not lend money your own family needs for basic needs.

Can a lender ask for extra?

A loan is help, not a business. So the rule is simple: you get back the same amount you lent.

• Any extra that is part of the deal, money or a favor, is riba. All scholars agree. Allah says about riba: if you repent, you may have your original money back, wronging no one and not being wronged³⁸. See What riba is.
• A late fee that the lender keeps is also riba. Charging more because someone paid late is the same riba people practiced before Islam.
• Gifts from the borrower: Abdullah ibn Salam, a Companion, said: if someone owes you and sends you a gift, even a load of straw or barley, do not take it, it is riba³⁹. Many scholars say: until the loan is paid, do not accept gifts or favors because of it. The exception is if you already gave each other gifts before the loan.
• Paying back more without being asked is different. That is the sunnah⁴⁰.
• Collateral (something valuable the lender holds as a guarantee) is allowed⁴¹. Many scholars say the lender should not use it for himself, because then he would be getting a benefit from the loan.

A loan with a fixed date

Say you agreed the money will be paid back in six months. Can the lender ask for it earlier?

• Malikis: no. The agreed date must be kept.
• Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis: in a simple loan, the lender may ask for it earlier. But keeping the date you promised is the better and more honorable way.

Either way, keep your word. Allah says: O you who believe, keep your agreements⁴².

Lending to family and friends

Loans between relatives and friends are the ones that break hearts most. A few simple habits help:

• Be clear: is it a gift or a loan? Say it out loud at the start.
• Write it down, even with your brother or your parent. The ayah says small or large⁴³. That is not a lack of trust. It is what the Quran teaches.
• Lend what you could live without. If you could not bear to lose it, a smaller gift may be wiser.
• If a relative is poor, giving may be better than lending. Allah says: give the relative what is his right, and the poor⁴⁴. Charity to a relative counts twice: as charity and as keeping family ties.
• Husband and wife can lend to each other too. A wife's own money belongs to her. If she lends it to her husband, he owes it and must pay it back, unless she clearly gives it as a gift.

What happens to debts when someone dies?

When a person dies, their debts do not disappear. In the inheritance ayat, Allah says again and again that the shares are given out after any will or debt⁴⁵⁴⁶.

• Ali said: Nabi ﷺ decided that debts are paid before the will, even though the ayah mentions the will first⁴⁷.
• So the money a person leaves is used in this order: 1. the costs of washing, shrouding and burial, 2. debts, 3. the will (up to one third), 4. the fixed shares of the heirs. See Wills and inheritance.
• Pay quickly. The soul of the believer is held back by his debt until it is paid⁴⁸.
• If the person left nothing, the heirs do not have to pay from their own money. But if they do, or a friend does, it is a great kindness, like Abu Qatada⁴⁹.
• What you owe Allah also matters, like zakat the person never paid. Nabi ﷺ said: what is owed to Allah has more right to be paid⁵⁰. Shafi'is and Hanbalis: unpaid zakat is taken from what the person left, like any other debt. Hanafis: it is only taken if the person asked for it in their will, and then only from the one third. Ask a scholar you trust.

Which duas help with debt?

Dua does not replace a plan, but it is the strongest part of it. These are the duas Nabi ﷺ taught.

1. For a debt you cannot pay

A man came to Ali and said he could not pay what he owed. Ali taught him words from Nabi ﷺ. He said: even if you had a debt as big as a mountain, Allah would pay it for you⁵³:

• Allahumma-kfini bi halalika 'an haramik, wa aghnini bi fadlika 'amman siwak.
  O Allah, let what You made halal be enough for me, so I do not need what You made haram. And by Your kindness, let me need no one but You.

2. Protection from worry and debt

Nabi ﷺ used to say this often⁵⁴:

• Allahumma inni a'udhu bika minal-hammi wal-hazan, wal-'ajzi wal-kasal, wal-jubni wal-bukhl, wa dala'id-dayni wa ghalabatir-rijal.
  O Allah, I ask You to protect me from worry and sadness, from weakness and laziness, from being a coward and being stingy, from being crushed by debt, and from being overpowered by people.

3. In your salah

Before the salam (the closing words of salah), Nabi ﷺ asked Allah to protect him from many things. He ended with: Allahumma inni a'udhu bika minal-ma'thami wal-maghram. O Allah, I ask You to protect me from sin and from debt⁵⁵.

4. Before sleep

In a longer dua at bedtime, Nabi ﷺ said: iqdi 'annad-dayna wa aghnina minal-faqr. Pay off our debt for us, and free us from poverty⁵⁶.

Common questions

My friend borrowed money two years ago and now avoids me. What can I do?

Ask him privately and kindly. If he is truly struggling, give him more time⁵⁷, or agree on small payments. If he can pay and will not, you may ask firmly, or go to court. Letting it go is charity, and that is better for you if you can.

I lent money years ago, and prices have gone up a lot. Can I ask for more back?

Most scholars say no. A loan is paid back in the same amount, even if that money now buys less. If your friend chooses to give a little more, without you asking, he is following the sunnah⁵⁸.

Can I let go of a debt and count it as my zakat?

Most scholars say no, because zakat must be handed over to the person who receives it. You can give zakat to a person in debt⁵⁹. They can then use it to pay their debts, even to you, as long as you did not agree on this in advance.

The law in my country lets me declare bankruptcy. Does that clear my debts before Allah?

Many scholars say: the law can protect you and give you a fresh start, and that may be allowed when you truly cannot pay. But each person you owe still has their right before Allah, unless they forgive it. If you are able to pay later, pay them back. Talk to a scholar and a qualified adviser where you live.

My father died with debts and left no money. Must I pay them?

You do not have to pay from your own money. But paying them, if you can, is one of the best things you can do for him⁶⁰. Ask the lenders if they will let go of part of it, as Nabi ﷺ asked for Jabir⁶¹.

Can I go for Umrah or Hajj while I owe money?

If a debt is due now and you cannot pay for both, pay the debt first. A long loan you are paying on time, like a monthly plan, does not usually stop you, as long as the lender is not harmed. See Before you go.