Transliteration:( Wa in kaana zoo 'usratin fanaziratun ilaa maisarah; wa an tasaddaqoo khairul lakum in kuntum ta'lamoon )
745. Issue: there is no time limit acceptable in respect of loans. Its payment can be demanded at any time. There is time limit in respect of payment of debt, it cannot be demanded before the due date. Short term loan would be regarded as a loan, while trade loans would be regarded as debts. Both the loan and the debt are included in this verse, as to give an extension ofpayment to both these debtors is an act worthy of reward. Hence we learn that to forgive a debtor from payment of his debt is an act of charity, but such a person cannot pay Zakaat out of that money. This situation can be remedied by paying Zakaat to a hard pressed debtor. After the debtor has taken possession of the money the creditor can collect his debt.
The tafsir of Surah Baqarah verse 279 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Baqarah ayat 278 which provides the complete commentary from verse 278 through 281.
(2:280) But if the debtor is in straitened circumstance, let him have respite until the time of ease; and whatever you remit by way of charity is better for you, if only you know.[324]
324. This verse is the basis of the Islamic regulation that if a person has become incapable of paying off his debt, the court will force the creditors to grant him respite for payment. In fact, under certain circumstances, the court is entitled to remit a part of his debt and, at times, the whole of it. It is mentioned in the Hadith that once a person suffered loss in his trade and became greatly burdened with debt and the case was brought to the notice of the Prophet. The Prophet urged the people to help their brother in his distress. They came to his assistance but the amount of help was not enough to wipe out his debts. Then the Prophet approached the lenders and asked them to accept whatever amount was available and to grant remission to the borrower because of his inability to make further payments. Muslim jurists have made it clear that a debtor’s residential house, eating utensils, clothes and the tools which he uses for earning his livelihood may not be confiscated in any, circumstances whatsoever for non-payrment of loans. (For relevant discussion and textual evidence see the commentaries on this verse in Ibn Kathir, Jassas, and Qurtubi – Ed.)
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