What Is the Ruling on Acknowledging Another’s Ownership of One’s Wealth?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul Rahim Reasat

Question

Does iqrar occur when a person says that his money is for so-and-so person? Is the person obligated to give all his money to that person?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful.

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all beings, and may peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad.

An Iqrar is an admission of owing a person money. It usually entails a wording that expresses an unambiguous statement of owing another a certain amount of money. [Maydani, Lubab]

If one owes another person money, they are obligated to repay them. Not necessarily because of the statement, but because it is their right.

Safety on the Day of Judgment and precaution against facing a difficult questioning before Allah Most High would entail that one does their best to repay what they owe to others.

The Iqrar itself is a statement that makes repayment legally binding before a court, but what’s more important is the court of Allah on the day of judgment. If you do owe someone something, focus more on that than on any legal details.

May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

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Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.