Giving a Debt Owed to a Deceased Creditor to the Mosque

Question

Zayd borrows from ʿAmr and, due to some constraint, is unable to repay it. Then ʿAmr dies, and some days later Zayd himself also dies. Now Zayd’s heirs wish to repay this debt. To whom is this debt to be repaid? May this debt be put into a madrasa, a mosque or some building of the mosque, or not? May it be given to some widow, orphan or needy person, or not?

Answer

The heirs of the one who borrowed are obliged to give the amount of the debt from the deceased’s estate to the heirs of the person from whom the loan was taken; giving it to any other widow, orphan, needy person, madrasa or mosque is not sufficient.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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