This hadith was transmitted from Abu Saeed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him). One day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), arriving at the mosque, saw a man named Abu Umama. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked him:
“O Abu Umamat, why do I see you in the mosque, not during prayer?” Abu Umama replied: “Worries and debts have overwhelmed me, O Messenger of Allah.” “Shall I teach you words through which the Almighty will free you from worries and debts?” - asked the Prophet. “Teach, O Messenger of Allah,” said Abu Umama. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Before going to bed and after waking up from sleep, say the following prayer:
اللهم إني أعوذ بك من الهم والحزن وأعوذ بك من العجز والكسل وأعوذ بك من البخل والجبن وأعوذ بك من غلبة الدين وقهر الرجال. قال: فقلت ذلك فأذهب الله عز وجل همي وقضى عني ديني
“Allahumma inni a'uzu bika mina l-hammi wa l-huzni wa a'uzu bika min al-'ajzi wa l-kasali wa a'uzu bika minal buhli wa l-jubni wa a'uzu bika min g'alabati-ddaini wa kagyri-rijal.”
“O Allah, I will ask for Your protection from worries and sadness, I will ask for Your protection from weakness and laziness, I will also ask for Your protection from stinginess and greed, from being overcome by debts, and from the violence of people.”
Abu Umama said:
I said these words, and Allah relieved me of my worries and repaid my debts.” (Abu Daoud)
Ibn "Abu Ddunya" also transmitted a hadith from Mu"az ibn Jabal:
One day I complained to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that I had debts.
He asked me:
O Mu'az, do you want to be free from debt?
Oh yeah! - I answered. Then he read the verses to me. These were verses 26 and 27 from Surah Al-i "Imran of the Holy Quran:
ُقُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاءُ وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاءُ وَتُعِزُّ مَن تَشَاءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَن تَشَاءُ ۖ بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ ۖ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ (٢٦) تُولِجُ اللَّيْلَ فِي النَّهَارِ وَتُولِجُ النَّهَارَ فِي اللَّيْلِ ۖ وَتُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ ۖ وَتَرْزُقُ مَن تَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ (٢٧)
[الجزء: ٣ | آل عمران (٣)| الآية: ٢٦- ٢٧]
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent and the Merciful! Say: “O Allah, Master of all things! You give to whomever you wish, and you take away from whomever you wish. Everything happens according to your will; You exalt whomever you wish and humiliate whomever you wish. You give all good things. Verily, You have power over all things. You lengthen the night by shortening the day, and you lengthen the day by shortening the night. You make the dead alive and the living - dead, that is, you turn seeds into plants, and plants into seeds, a date pit into a palm tree, and from a palm tree dates, etc., and you give, without counting, inheritance to whomever you wish.” (3:26-27)
رَحْمنَ الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ وَرِحِيمَهُمَا تُعْطِي مَنْ تَشَاءُ مِنْهَا وَتَمْنَعُ مَنْ تَشَاءُ ، ارْحَمْني رَحْمَةً تُغْنِيني بِهَا عَنْ رَحْمَةِ مَنْ سِوَاكَ
“Rahmanu ddunya wa l-ahirati wa rahimukhuma, tu’ti mann tashau minha wa tamna’u mann tashau, irhamni rahmatan tugnini biha ’an rahmati mann siuaka.”
“O Most Gracious of this world and the world to come, O Allah, the Merciful, give me from Yourself and remove my debts!”
After reading this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Even if you owe someone all the gold in the world, you will still be freed from debt!”
Borrow a certain amount of material resources. In such cases, the question always arises of timely repayment of the debt. If there is an opportunity to return what we have borrowed, but this is not done intentionally, then we become oppressors and fall into sin. The hadith reported by Imam at-Tirmidhi says: “For a debtor who had the opportunity to repay the debt but did not do so, the sin of the oppressor will be recorded daily.” . May the Almighty protect us from such acts!
But sometimes debts can be so huge that repaying them becomes a big problem for us. Anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation should ask the lender for a deferment in payment. In this case, you need to show maximum efforts to repay the debt, including selling property that is not absolutely necessary. It is also advisable on the part of the lender to meet the debtor halfway, to delay the repayment of the debt, and in case of extreme poverty, to completely forgive the borrowed amount. The Messenger of God ﷺ said: “Whoever gives in debt is given the goodness of alms for every day. Anyone who is not in a hurry to receive a debt from a poor person is given the same goodness for each day as if he had given all his property as alms." (al-Hakim).
Are there duas that can help you get rid of debt?
The Messenger of God ﷺ taught Mu'adh ibn Jabal the following prayer from the sacred (verses 26-27 of Surah Al-Imran) for getting rid of debts:
اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتَنْزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاءُ وَتُعِزُّ مَنْ تَشَاءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَنْ تَشَاءُ بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ * تُولِجُ اللَّيْلَ فِي النَّهَارِ وَتُولِجُ النَّهَارَ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَتَرْزُقُ مَنْ تَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
يَا رَحْمٰنَ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَرَحِيمُهُمَا تُعْطِي مَنْ تَشَاءُ مِنْهَا وَتَمْنَعُ مَنْ تَشَاءُ، ارْحَمْنِي رَحْمَةً تُغْنِينِي بِهَا عَنْ رَحْمَةِ مَنْ سِوَاكَ
Transcription: “Allahumma malika-l-mulki tu’ti-l-mulka mann tashau wa tanzi’u-l-mulka mimmann tashau wa tu’izzu mann tashau wa tuҙillu mann tashau biyadika-l-hairu innaka ‘ala kulli shayin ḱadirun. Tuliju llayla fi nnahari wa tuliju nnahari fi llayli wa tuhriju-l-ẍayyya min-l-mayiti wa tuhriju-l-mayyita min-l-ẍayyi wa tarzuḱu min tashau bigayri ẍisab.
Ya Raẍmana ddunya wa-l-ahirati wa raẍimuhuma, tu'i mann tashau minha wa tamna'u mann tashau, irẍamni raẍmatan tugnini biha 'an raẍmati man sivak" .
Meaning: “O Allah, Lord of all things! You give to whomever you wish, and you take away from whomever you wish. Everything happens according to your will; You exalt whomever you wish and humiliate whomever you wish. You give all the blessings. Verily, You have power over all things. You lengthen the day at the expense of the night and lengthen the night at the expense of the day. You bring the living out of the dead and you bring the dead out of the living (that is, you turn seeds into plants, and plants into seeds, etc.). You give inheritance without counting to whomever you wish,” and you grant inheritance without counting to whomever you wish.
Hadiths about food
Verily, Allah Almighty has distributed your character among you, just as He has distributed your inheritance among you. And truly, Allah Almighty grants this peace to those whom He loves and to those whom He does not love. However, He does not give religion to anyone except the one He loves!
Predestination of destiny
“Verily, each of you is formed in the womb of his mother for forty days in the form of a drop of semen, then he remains there for the same amount of time in the form of a blood clot and for the same period in the form of a piece of flesh. And then an angel is sent to him, who blows the spirit into him, and is ordered to write down four things: the destiny of a person, the duration of his life, his deeds, and also whether he will be happy or unhappy.”
“Allah completed four things for the son of Adam: his appearance, character, destiny and term.”
“Jabaril inspired me that a person will not die until his time comes and until he has exhausted his destiny.”
“Oh people! Fear Allah and strive for your destiny in the best possible way, because truly, not a single soul will die until it receives its destiny in full, even if there is a delay.”
Sources of increased food
“If you want a great inheritance, to live a long time, treat your relatives well.”
“If you had complete trust and hope in Allah, He would feed you just as He feeds the birds.”
“Every day two angels descend to a person. One of them says: “O Allah! Increase the food for the one who gives,” and the second one says: “O Allah! Destroy the property of the one who is greedy."
“O son of Adam, devote yourself to Me for worship, and I will fill your heart with wealth, I will cover your poverty, but if you do not devote yourself to Me, then I will fill your hands with work and I will not cover your poverty.”
Allah's Promise
“Behold, your Lord declared: “If you are grateful, I will give you even more. And if you are ungrateful, then the torment from Me will be grievous” (14:7).
“I said: “Ask your Lord for forgiveness, for He is the All-Forgiving. He will send down abundant rains from the sky, support you with wealth and children, grow gardens for you, and create rivers for you” (71:10-12).
“Say: “Verily, my Lord increases or limits the provision of those of His servants whom He wills. He will repay whatever you spend. He is the Best of Providers” (34:39).
“Whoever fears Allah, He creates a way out of the situation and gives him a destiny from where he does not even imagine” (65: 2-3).
The hadith-qudsi says: “O son of Adam! Dedicate yourself to worshiping Me, I will fill your heart with wealth, bless your lot and instill peace in your body. Do not be careless in remembering Me. If you begin to forget Me, I will fill your heart with need, your body with fatigue and suffering, and your soul with care and anxiety. If you knew how long you have left to live, you would renounce your remaining hopes.”
"O son of Adam, spend and I will spend on you"
Deprivation of food
“Indeed, a person is deprived of food because of the sin he has committed.”
“Whoever is in need and turns to people to get rid of it, they will not help get rid of it. And whoever is in need and turns to Allah with it, He will certainly send him his provision sooner or later.”
Dua for debt
One day, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) entered his mosque and saw his saddened companion, who said: “I am in grief and sadness, I am overcome by debts, and there is no money to pay them.”
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Shouldn’t I teach you a prayer, read it and everything that burdens you will disappear?”
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) instructed him to read the following dua in the mornings and evenings:
Allahumma, inni a'uzu bi-kya min al-hammi wa-l-khazani, wa-l-'ajzi wa-l-kasali, wa-l-bukhli wa-l-jubni wa dala'i-d-dayni wa galabati-r-rijal.
“O Allah, truly I seek Your help from anxiety and sadness, weakness and negligence, stinginess and cowardice, the burden of debt and oppression of people.”
For many centuries, the presence of financial dependence led to the fact that a person lost his freedom. Currently, slavery has been officially abolished in almost all countries of the world, but the debt burden remains a significant limitation of human freedom - albeit not physical, but spiritual.
Banks and various microfinance organizations actively encourage people to enter into debt relationships on unfavorable terms, driving them into interest bondage. But modern Muslims should understand that under no circumstances should they succumb to such calls, since not only prosperity in this world, but also the eternal world is at risk. And it doesn’t matter who acts as a creditor - some organization or an ordinary person (i.e. an individual in modern legal terminology).
Debt is permitted by Sharia...
In Arabic the word is used "dain" which is translated as "duty". The Shariah meaning of "dayn" can be interpreted as "a duty that must be fulfilled". Theologians refer to the well-known hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), according to which the debtor actually finds himself in the position of a prisoner. “Your companion was imprisoned in his own debt” (Abu Dawud).
At the same time, debt relations between people are considered in Islamic law as a normal situation. Thus, the Holy Quran speaks in detail about debt in Surah Al-Baqarah:
“O you who believe! Write down the terms if you enter into a debt agreement for a certain period...” (2:282)
... but there is one "but"
However, Islam in general views debt as something that Muslims should avoid. The final messenger of the Almighty, Muhammad (s.g.w.), repeatedly said dua (prayer) asking him to relieve him of debt and serious sin. A hadith with this content, transmitted through Aisha (ra), can be found in the collections of Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Also in the book of Imam Ahmad there is a story about how the Prophet (s.a.w.) refused to fulfill someone who had a debt of two dinars. Abu Qatada (r.a.), who came to say goodbye to the deceased, promised to pay off his debt and pay the necessary amount. When this happened, the Grace of the Worlds, Muhammad (s.a.w.), said: “Finally, the skin of the dead man became cold.”
Sauban (r.a.) reports the words of the Messenger of the Almighty (s.g.w.): “He who dies free from three things - arrogance, deception (fraud) and debt - will go to the abode of Paradise” (At-Tirmidhi) .
From these hadiths it is clear how serious the responsibility that arises in debt relationships is. In fact, the financial burden becomes a serious irritant for the borrower, thoughts of repayment occupy his thoughts. Such a situation is perceived as humiliation, as a result of which a person loses faith in his own strength and is inclined to engage in self-flagellation. And the party acting as a lender, in turn, is forced to worry about whether the agreement will be respected. That is, debt relationships contribute to the intensity of interpersonal relationships and can lead to...
When are Muslims allowed to borrow?
Islamic scholars identify three cases when taking a loan is considered permissible:
1) the borrower must have the intention to repay the debt, that is, he should not expect that this financial obligation can be forgiven or forgotten;
2) the debtor has the ability to pay the debt, that is, the amount must be affordable for him;
3) debt can only be taken out for something that is not prohibited by Shariah. Based on this, you cannot give or borrow at interest.
Transfer of debt to another person
The situation of transferring the debt burden or part of it to another person deserves special attention. Islamic law provides for this possibility. There is even a special term used in Arabic "al-hawala" . In this case, an agreement is signed between the person on whom the debt hangs and the one who is ready to answer for these obligations. The integral basis of such a transaction is an offer from the debtor and consent from both the creditor and the person who accepts the transfer of debt.
There are two situations when such a financial scheme is canceled:
- if the person who accepted the transfer of debt denies this fact by taking an oath, and the transferor cannot provide evidence;
- if the person who accepted the debt dies in a state of bankruptcy.
Dua to get rid of debts
In conclusion, let us present the dua (prayer) mentioned above, which was recited by the Final Messenger of the Almighty (s.g.v.) to get rid of the test of debt:
Allahumma, inni aguzu bikya min al-masyam wal-magryam
Translation:“O Almighty, I seek refuge with You from grave sin and debt.”
In addition, there is a narration that says that the Seal of all the prophets (s.g.v.) advised one of the Sahabah to read the 26th and 27th verses of the sura in such a situation.
From Abu Said al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, it is reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) once came to the mosque and saw a man there who was called Abu Umama. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him: “O Abu Umamat, why do I see you in the mosque, not during prayer?” Abu Umama replied: “Worries and debts have overwhelmed me, O Messenger of Allah.” “Shall I teach you words through which the Almighty will free you from worries and debts?” - asked the Prophet. “Teach, O Messenger of Allah,” said Abu Umama. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Before going to bed and after waking up from sleep, say:
اللهم إني أعوذ بك من الهم والحزن وأعوذ بك من العجز والكسل وأعوذ بك من البخل والجبن وأعوذ بك من غلبة الدين وقهر الرجال. قال: فقلت ذلك فأذهب الله عز وجل همي وقضى عني ديني
« Allahumma inni a'uzu bika mina l-hammi wa l-huzni wa a'uzu bika min al-'ajzi wa l-kasali wa a'uzu bika minal bukhli wa l-jubni wa a'uzu bika min g'alabati-ddayni wa kagyri -rijal».
« O Allah, I will forgive Your protection from worries and sadness, I will forgive Your protection from weakness and laziness, I will also forgive Your protection from stinginess and greed, from being overcome by debts, and from the violence of people.” Abu Umama said: “I said these words, and Allah relieved me of worries and repaid my debts" (Abu Daoud)
Ibn "Abu Ddunya" also reports a hadith from Mu"az ibn Jabal
“I complained to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that I had debts. He asked me: “O Mu’az, do you want to be free from debt?” “Oh yes!” - I answered.
Then he read the verses to me.”
These were verses 26 and 27 from Surah Al-i "Imran:
ُقُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاءُ وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاءُ وَتُعِزُّ مَن تَشَاءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَن تَشَاءُ ۖ بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ ۖ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ (٢٦) تُولِجُ اللَّيْلَ فِي النَّهَارِ وَتُولِجُ النَّهَارَ فِي اللَّيْلِ ۖ وَتُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ ۖ وَتَرْزُقُ مَن تَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ (٢٧)
[الجزء: ٣ | آل عمران (٣)| الآية: ٢٦- ٢٧]
« In the name of Allah, the Beneficent and the Merciful! Say: “O Allah, Master of all things! You give to whomever you wish, and you take away from whomever you wish. Everything happens according to your will; You exalt whomever you wish and humiliate whomever you wish. You give all good things. Verily, You have power over all things. You lengthen the night by shortening the day, and you lengthen the day by shortening the night. You make the dead alive and the living - dead, that is, you turn seeds into plants, and plants into seeds, a date pit into a palm tree, and from a palm tree dates, etc., and you give, without counting, inheritance to whomever you wish " (3:26-27)
رَحْمنَ الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ وَرِحِيمَهُمَا تُعْطِي مَنْ تَشَاءُ مِنْهَا وَتَمْنَعُ مَنْ تَشَاءُ ، ارْحَمْني رَحْمَةً تُغْنِيني بِهَا عَنْ رَحْمَةِ مَنْ سِوَاكَ
“Rahmanu ddunya wa l-akhrati wa rahimukhuma, tu’ti man tashau minha wa tamna’u mann tashau, irhamni rahmatan tugnini biha ‘an rahmati mann sivaka.”
« O Most Gracious of this world and the world to come, O Allah, the Merciful, give me from Yourself and remove my debts! ».
After reading this, He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Even if you owe someone all the gold in the world, you will still be freed from debt!”
