Question:

Is it permissible to settle a debt with one person before addressing another if someone owes money to multiple individuals, or is it necessary to distribute the repayment equally among all creditors?

The Fatwa

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

The Answer

The Fiqh of the Answer

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.

And Almighty Allah Alone Knows Best

Maulana Inaamul Hasan Chothia
Trainee Mufti

Reviewed and approved by
Mufti Faraz Adam
Darul Iftaa Muadh ibn Jabal
www.darulfiqh.com 

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وَيَأْخُذُونَ فَضْلَ كَسْبِهِ وَيُقْسَمُ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْحِصَصِ لِاسْتِوَاءِ حُقُوقِهِمْ فِي الْقُوَّةِ، وَلَوْ قَدَّمَ الْبَعْضَ عَلَى الْبَعْضِ فِي الْقَضَاءِ جَازَ؛ لِأَنَّهُ تَصَرُّفٌ فِي خَالِصِ مِلْكِهِ وَلَمْ يَتَعَلَّقْ لِأَحَدٍ حَقٌّ فِي مَالِهِ وَإِنَّمَا حَقُّهُ فِي ذِمَّتِهِ فَلَهُ أَنْ يُؤْثِرَ مَنْ شَاءَ مِنْ غُرَمَائِهِ ذَكَرَهُ فِي النِّهَايَةِ وَعَزَاهُ إلَى الذَّخِيرَةِ وَذَاكَ إلَى فَتَاوَى النَّسَفِيِّ (البحر الرائق)

الْمَسْأَلَةُ الرَّابِعَةُ وَالْعِشْرُونَ – لِلْمَدِينِ إِذَا لَمْ يَكُنْ مَرِيضًا أَوْ مَحْجُورًا أَنْ يُقَدِّمَ دَيْنَ بَعْضِ دَائِنِيهِ عَنْ دَائِنِيهِ الْآخَرِينَ (درر الحكام شرح مجلة الاحكام)