QARD HASANA
Assisting someone to pay his
or her debt can take two forms. The debtor can be assisted with a grant or a
loan. Loans in turn, are of two kinds: dain i.e. a debt
contracted with some definite term fixed for repayment (of principal sum
without interest), and qard hasana i.e. a loan given without any
fixed term for repayment (of principal sum without any interest).
The Qur’an makes mention of
dain in the following:
Oh you
who believe, when you contract a debt (dain) for a fixed period, put it in
writing . . .So do not fail to put your debts (dain) in writing, be they small
or big, together with the date of payment. This is more just in the sight of
Allah. . .
(Qur 'an; al-Baqarah:-2:252)
The Qur’an also makes
mention of qard hasana (a generous loan) in several verses. Although the
reference is always to making a generous loan to Allah the Most High, (2:245)
(5:12) (57:11) (57:18) (64:17) (72:20), the term qard hasana has been
used to designate a loan which is given without any fixed term for repayment:
it being also understood that if the debtor has difficulty in repaying the loan
it will be written off: Qard hasana therefore constitutes a charitable
loan.
Who
will grant Allah a generous loan (qard hasana)? He will repay him many times
over. It is Allah who enriches and makes poor and to Him shall all return.
(Qur’an: al-Baqarah :- 2:145)
A qard hasana which
is extended to assist someone to pay a dain will still constitute a charitable
loan and will thus bring a manifold reward from Allah the Most High!
ON SEEKING HELP AND ENTERING INTO DEBT
Even though one may be in
great need, a Muslim should still hesitate to take a loan or to ask for help:
Ibn Abbas
reported Allah's Messenger as saying: If anyone is hungry or in need and
conceals it from others, it will be due from Allah Who is great and glorious to
give him a year’s provision from what is lawful.
(Baihaqi)
Imran bin
Husain reported Allah's Messenger as saying: Allah loves His poor believing
servant who refrains from begging and yet has children. (I understand this to
mean: who refrains from begging even though he has (hungry) children).
(Ibn Majah)
Abu Kabsha
al-Anmari said that he heard Allah's Messenger say: There are three things
which l swear to be true and I shall tell you something else so keep it in
memory. The three things which I swear to be true are that a man's property
does not become less on account of sadaqa, that when a man is wronged and bears
it patiently Allah will give him greater honor on that account, and that when a
man opens a door towards begging Allah opens for him a door towards poverty.
The thing I am
going to tell you which you must keep in memory is this. The world has four
types of people,
- a man whom Allah provides with property and knowledge in which he fears his Lord and joins ties of relationship, acting in it towards Allah as is due to Him, this man being in the most excellent station;
- a man whom Allah provides with knowledge but not with property, who says with sincere intention that if he had property he would act as so and so does, their reward being equal;
- a man whom Allah provides with property but not with knowledge, in which he acts in a random manner ignorantly, not fearing his Lord respecting it or using it to join ties of relationship or dealing with it in a right way this man being in the worst station;
- a man whom Allah provides with neither property nor knowledge, who says that if he had property he would deal with it as so and so does, (i.e. the third man) and has this Intention, the load they have to bear being equal.
(Trmidhi)
to be continued . . . .
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