Am I Sinful If I Accept Repayment After Forgiving a Debt?
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
If I forgive someone for not returning money, but they later return it and I accept, is that wrong? What if someone forgives a debt, but it’s still repaid—does that involve sin?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
There is no sin if one forgives a debt and later accepts its repayment, provided the repayment is voluntary and without coercion. Forgiveness remains virtuous, and the debtor’s repayment becomes a voluntary act of integrity.
Allah Most High says: “But if the debtor is in hardship, then (let there be) postponement until (a time of) ease. But if you give (from your right as) charity, then it is better for you, if you only knew.” [Quran, 2:280]
Forgiving a debt is an act of charity and is highly encouraged in Islam. If, after waiving the debt, the debtor still chooses to repay it of their own volition and not due to any pressure or expectation, the creditor is not blamed for accepting it. This would amount to a voluntary gift and not a debt repayment. There is no sin in accepting this.
Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.
