Can a Creditor Accept Early Repayment in Return for Reducing the Debt?
هل يجوز للدائن أن يعجل رد الدين قبل موعده مقابل إسقاط بعض الدين؟
Is it permissible for the one who loans money to ask for his money prematurely in return for decreasing the debt amount?
The answer permits early repayment of a debt with part of it dropped, provided the creditor agrees, so that the creditor receives his money early and the debtor is released from his obligation. It supports this with the ruling of Ibn Abbas (Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq 14360).
Islamic law promotes ease in financial dealings, allowing flexibility that helps debtors clear their liabilities while ensuring creditors can recover their funds promptly.
Early Repayment and Discounting
1. Permissibility and Mutual Benefit
Yes, the creditor may expedite the debt before its maturity by decreasing the debt amount, so that both the creditor benefits from getting his money back, and the borrower gets an early release of paying back the debt, provided that the creditor is satisfied.
2. The Scholarly Precedent of Ibn Abbas
Ibn Abbas, the great scholar of the Ummah, was asked about a man who has loaned someone money for a fixed term, and he says to him: "Expedite the debt payment and I will write off a certain amount of the loan." He replied, "It is permissible." Narrated by Abd al-Razzaq with an authentic chain: 14360.
هل يجوز للدائن أن يعجل رد الدين قبل موعده مقابل إسقاط بعض الدين؟
يجيز الجواب تعجيل الدين قبل موعده مع إسقاط بعضه برضا الدائن، فينتفع الدائن بتعجيل حقه والمدين ببراءة ذمته، ويستدل بفتوى ابن عباس التي رواها عبد الرزاق في المصنف برقم 14360.
تشجع الشريعة الإسلامية على التيسير في المعاملات المالية، وتسمح بالمرونة التي تساعد المدينين على تصفية التزاماتهم مع ضمان تمكن الدائنين من استرداد أموالهم بسرعة.
تعجيل السداد وإسقاط الدين
1. الجواز والمنفعة المتبادلة
نعم، يجوز للدائن أن يعجل الدين قبل موعده مع إسقاط بعض الدين، فينتفع الدائن بتعجيل حقه، والمدين ببراءة ذمته، بشرط أن يرضى الدائن.
2. سابقة الإمام ابن عباس
فقد سئل ابن عباس حبر الأمة عن الرجل يكون له الحق على الرجل إلى أجل، فيقول عجل لي وأضع عنك، فقال لا بأس بذلك. رواه عبد الرزاق بإسناد صحيح: 14360.
1. The Two Views | القولان في المسألة
Al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya of Kuwait reports that the Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis do not permit reducing a deferred debt in return for early payment, and that Zayd ibn Thabit, Ibn Umar, and al-Miqdad opposed it; a man asked Ibn Umar about it, and he said that the man wanted him to feed him riba. Permission is reported from Ibn Abbas, the view this answer follows, and it is a narration from Ahmad chosen by Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim.
وَأَن تَصَدَّقُوا خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ (سورة البقرة: 280)
تذكر الموسوعة الفقهية الكويتية أن الحنفية والمالكية والشافعية والحنابلة لا يجيزون إسقاط بعض الدين المؤجل مقابل تعجيل الباقي، وأنه كرهه زيد بن ثابت وابن عمر والمقداد، وأن رجلا سأل ابن عمر عنه فنهاه وقال: إن هذا يريد أن أطعمه الربا. ونقل الجواز عن ابن عباس، وهو القول الذي أخذ به الجواب، وهو رواية عن أحمد اختارها ابن تيمية وابن القيم.
2. The Fiqh Academy's Ruling | قرار مجمع الفقه الإسلامي
The International Islamic Fiqh Academy, at its seventh session in Jeddah in May 1992, ruled that reducing a deferred debt in return for early payment, whether at the creditor's or the debtor's request, is permissible and is not forbidden riba, as long as it is not based on a prior agreement. Those who permit it explain that it is the reverse of riba: riba increases a debt in return for more time, while this reduces a debt in return for less time.
لَا تَظْلِمُونَ وَلَا تُظْلَمُونَ (سورة البقرة: 279)
قرر مجمع الفقه الإسلامي الدولي في دورته السابعة بجدة سنة 1992 أن "الحطيطة من الدين المؤجل لأجل تعجيله، سواء أكانت بطلب الدائن أو المدين (ضع وتعجل) جائزة شرعا، لا تدخل في الربا المحرم إذا لم تكن بناء على اتفاق مسبق". ويعلل المجيزون بأنها عكس الربا؛ فالربا زيادة في الدين مقابل الأجل، وهذه نقص من الدين مقابل التعجيل.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Is reducing a debt for early payment considered a type of riba?
Scholars differ. Those who permit it, following Ibn Abbas, say it is the reverse of riba, since riba increases a debt for more time while this reduces it for less time. Most jurists of the four schools forbade it, and Ibn Umar said that a man who asked for it wanted him to feed him riba.
Can a creditor force the borrower to pay early in exchange for a discount?
No. The agreement to pay early in exchange for a reduction must be mutual. If the borrower prefers to wait until the original due date and pay the full amount, he has the right to do so.
What is the fiqh term for this type of transaction?
In Islamic jurisprudence it is known as da' wa ta'ajjal, which means reduce the debt and expedite the payment.
What did the International Islamic Fiqh Academy decide about it?
At its seventh session in Jeddah in 1992, it ruled that reducing a deferred debt for early payment, whether the creditor or the debtor asks for it, is permissible and is not forbidden riba, provided it was not agreed in advance.