Al Sufian


iconSufa 130 - The Debt (Al-Dayn)

1O People! There is no other deity but Allah!
2The Compassionate, the Beneficent, the Gracious;
3All prayers and homage be to Allah and no other!
4A true Muslim honors his word.
5Thus all obligations made freely and fair by word and oath must be honored.
6So it is the merchant and moneylender declare all debts must be paid.
7Indeed, all debts through agreement are first with Allah and secondly with the merchant.
8Thus to break such an agreement willingly is to breach the oath and promise with Allah.
9Yet the merchants and money lenders are artful with trickery
10They load an obligation with interest, which is forbidden under the law of Islam,
11They add penalties and burdens to an obligation for the most trifling of reasons,
12The misrepresent the size of the burden
13And seek at costs to extract the bond of one’s word and oath,
14As if a promise or oath given under bad faith still holds true.
15Verily, when one is deceived in promise,
16When one is forced to take a burden greater than they can carry,
17When merchants change the terms, or add burdens or interest,
18Then such debts are obligated to be broken.
19Even when a debt is taken, the money lenders and merchants have many devious ways to extract benefit.
20They often forbid such debts to be traded against obligations owed.
21Instead, they demand one must pay, even when withholding what is owed to settle.
22Verily, a man must be afforded the opportunity of settling his debts,
23And receiving settlement of the debts owed to him,
24At least four times a year,
25So that no man of a community who works and earns his way is required to hold a full debt for a year or more.
26Merchants and money lenders who refuse to balance the debts of a community in this way,
27Default their right to all debts owed to them.
28Truly, it is better to forgive debt and retain honor than to demand the torture or death of a poor man who cannot pay his debts.
29Whoso desires that Allah should redeem him from the sorrows and travail of the last day,
30Must delay in calling on poor debtors, or abusing the position of those of poor means.
31A man of honor before Allah will forgive the debt in part or whole before the end of year if such debt has been itself honored.
32Whoso has a thing wherewith to discharge a debt, and refuses to do it,
33It is right they be dishonored of actions not worthy of any true Muslim.