Author: Dr. Muhammad Ziya-ur-Rahman Azmi رحمه الله
◈ Recovering One’s Loan from the Debtor’s Property Without Their Knowledge ◈
If a person has given a loan to someone, it is not permissible for him to secretly take back his due from the debtor’s property, because the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Return the trust to the one who entrusted it to you, and do not betray the one who betrays you.”
Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Ḥadīth 3534; Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Ḥadīth 1264
This ruling applies except in cases of essential expenditures (nafaqāt).
For example, the case of Ḥind bint ʿUtbah (رضي الله عنها) who approached the Prophet ﷺ and said:
"Abū Sufyān is a stingy man; he does not give me and my children sufficient maintenance. If I take something from his wealth without his knowledge, will there be any sin upon me?"
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“Take from his wealth what is sufficient for you and your children according to what is customary.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth 5364
This explicit permission from the Prophet ﷺ demonstrates that if someone is responsible for another’s expenses yet fails to fulfill that obligation, the needy party may take what is rightfully due in a customary and necessary amount—without informing the person.
Scholars have included under this ruling other clear-cut rights, such as:
✔ A guest arriving at someone's home — if the host refuses to provide hospitality, then the guest is permitted to take enough provisions from the host’s wealth without informing him, as the guest has a manifest right.
Islam obligates the host to provide hospitality for one day and one night, and he has no right to withhold this obligation.
However, in the case of debts, it is not permissible for the lender to take back his due from the debtor's property without his knowledge, as the lender has no right to act unilaterally in this matter.
Ibn ʿUthaymīn – Nūr ʿala al-Darb 8/234
◈ Recovering One’s Loan from the Debtor’s Property Without Their Knowledge ◈
If a person has given a loan to someone, it is not permissible for him to secretly take back his due from the debtor’s property, because the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Return the trust to the one who entrusted it to you, and do not betray the one who betrays you.”
Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Ḥadīth 3534; Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Ḥadīth 1264This ruling applies except in cases of essential expenditures (nafaqāt).
For example, the case of Ḥind bint ʿUtbah (رضي الله عنها) who approached the Prophet ﷺ and said:
"Abū Sufyān is a stingy man; he does not give me and my children sufficient maintenance. If I take something from his wealth without his knowledge, will there be any sin upon me?"
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“Take from his wealth what is sufficient for you and your children according to what is customary.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth 5364This explicit permission from the Prophet ﷺ demonstrates that if someone is responsible for another’s expenses yet fails to fulfill that obligation, the needy party may take what is rightfully due in a customary and necessary amount—without informing the person.
❖ Parallel Cases and Scholarly Consensus:
Scholars have included under this ruling other clear-cut rights, such as:
✔ A guest arriving at someone's home — if the host refuses to provide hospitality, then the guest is permitted to take enough provisions from the host’s wealth without informing him, as the guest has a manifest right.
Islam obligates the host to provide hospitality for one day and one night, and he has no right to withhold this obligation.
However, in the case of debts, it is not permissible for the lender to take back his due from the debtor's property without his knowledge, as the lender has no right to act unilaterally in this matter.
Ibn ʿUthaymīn – Nūr ʿala al-Darb 8/234