Ruling on Referring a Debt to a Wealthy Person (Ḥawālah in Islam)
Written by: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❀ Principle of Debt Referral (Ḥawālah)
If someone’s debt is referred to a wealthy person, then this referral should be accepted.
◈ Linguistic Explanation
Ḥawālah literally means: to transfer.
- أحال يُحيلُ (ifʿāl) → to hand over.
- حوَّل يُحوِّل (tafrīl) → to transfer.
- Muḥīl → the one who refers.
- Muḥāl → the one who is referred.
- Muḥāl ʿalayh → the one to whom the debt is transferred.
- Muḥāl bih → the wealth (the debt itself).
References: al-Munjid (p. 187), Lisān al-ʿArab (3/399).
◈ Sharʿī Definition
Ḥawālah is:
A contract that transfers a debt from one liability to another.
References: al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr (3/325), Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (2/193), al-Mughnī (4/528), Ghāyat al-Muntaḥā (2/114), Kashshāf al-Qināʿ (3/37).
◈ Scholarly Consensus
There is ijmāʿ (consensus) among the scholars on the permissibility of ḥawālah.
References: al-Mughnī (4/521), al-Muhadhdhab (1/337), Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (2/193), Bidāyat al-Mujtahid (2/294), Fatḥ al-Qadīr (5/444).
❀ Evidence from Ḥadīth
➊ Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«مَطْلُ الْغَنِيِّ ظُلْمٌ، وَإِذَا أُتْبِعَ أَحَدُكُمْ عَلَى مَلِيءٍ فَلْيَتْبَعْ»
“Injustice is when a wealthy man delays payment of a debt. And when one of you is referred to a wealthy man, he should accept the referral.”
In another narration: «فَلْيَحْتَلْ» (he must accept the referral).
References: al-Bukhārī (2287, Kitāb al-Ḥawālāt), Muslim (1564), Abū Dāwūd (3345), al-Nasāʾī (7/317), al-Tirmidhī (1308), Ibn Mājah (3403), al-Umm by Imām al-Shāfiʿī (3/233), Aḥmad (2/245), al-Dārimī (2/261), al-Ḥumaydī (2/447), Abū Yaʿlā (11/172), Mushkil al-Āthār (4/7), al-Bayhaqī (6/70).
➋ Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrates:
«وَإِذَا أُحِيلَ أَحَدُكُمْ عَلَى مَلِيءٍ فَلْيَتْبَعْهُ»
“And when one of you is referred to a wealthy man, he should accept it.”
References: Ibn Mājah (2404), al-Tirmidhī (1309), Aḥmad (2/71), authenticated in Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah (1948).
❀ Conditions of Validity
✔ Consent of the one making the referral (muḥīl) is required — by agreement.
✔ According to the majority, the consent of the one being referred to (muḥāl ʿalayh) is also a condition.
✔ Some scholars hold that the consent of the creditor (muḥāl lahu) is required.
References: Nayl al-Awṭār (3/622), al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah (2/513), al-Mughnī (4/522), Ghāyat al-Muntaḥā (2/114).
❀ Conclusion
✿ Ḥawālah is a valid and agreed-upon contract in Sharīʿah.
✿ If a person is referred to a wealthy debtor, he should accept the referral as emphasized in the aḥādīth.
✿ Conditions of consent must be fulfilled for the transaction to be valid.
