The sequence of settling debts of various debtors

When someone is owed a debt, they don’t have a direct claim on the debtor’s wealth. Instead, the owed amount is a right that the debtor is obligated to fulfil. If a person owes money to multiple creditors, each of them has a legitimate claim on the debtor’s responsibility. This means the debtor has full ownership of the money, and it’s not mandatory for them to repay each creditor with the exact item which was loaned to them.

Once it’s established that the debtor owns the money, they have the right to spend it as they see fit. While it’s common for repayment to be proportionate to the amount owed to each creditor, it’s not obligatory. This is because the debtor has complete Milkiyyah of the funds and has the discretion to manage it as they choose as has been mentioned by ʿAlī Ḥaydar (d.1353 AH).

While the debtor has the freedom to repay creditors as they choose, the most suitable approach may vary depending on the circumstances. If a creditor is in immediate need of the money, it is preferable to settle their debt first before moving on to others. However, the usual practice would be to repay each creditor in proportion to the amount they lent to the debtor by default.