Fri 17 رمضان 1447 (06 Mar 2026)
[Invalidity of Demanding a Debt After One Partner Has Granted Remission in a Customary Partnership]
Mufti:
Alsayyed Muhammad b. Abdallah Awad Al-Muayyady
Fatwa number: 21801
Number of views: 2
[Invalidity of Demanding a Debt After One Partner Has Granted Remission in a Customary Partnership]
Fatwa number: 21801
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Question: A man forgave another man the remainder of a debt. They remained for a period thereafter, and a dispute arose. The man [who had forgiven] said: “It is true I forgave you, but I am claiming my brother’s share of the debt, because my brother is in straitened circumstances.” This is with the knowledge that these two brothers are partners in everything, small and great, and they have extensive businesses—each of them transacts as he wishes without the other’s permission. And his forgiving the man the remainder of the debt is something this man customarily does with his clients. Is it valid for him to demand his brother and partner’s share, or not?
Answer—and Allah is the One who grants success: If the matter is as stated in the question, then it is not valid to demand his brother’s share of the debt if he forgave all of it. That is because, in his trading and transactions, he disposes on his own behalf and on behalf of his brother in every sale and purchase; if remission of the debt were not valid, then neither sale nor purchase would be valid for either of them.
Moreover, the prevailing custom validates what one of the partners does in such a customary partnership. If we did not affirm its validity, many transactions would be disrupted, and a great door of dispute and contention would be opened upon the people.
Source: Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.2
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