He borrowed some money from his mother and his mother has died, what should he do?

17-9-2023 | IslamWeb

Question:

I borrowed some money from my mother and my mother has died, so what can I do? Give me an answer from an Islamic point of view and also ahdees reference please.Cordially,

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

This money must be paid to her heirs, based on the saying of the Prophet : “…And whoever leaves behind wealth, it is for his heirs.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] The legal portion of the inheritance is divided between the heirs.

If the debt you owe to your mother became due before her death and you have not paid it yet, then there is no problem in that and you are obligated to pay it to them immediately.

If the debt was deferred and the time to pay it off has not yet come, the majority of jurists are of the view that the deferred term stays valid, and the debt does not become due upon her death.

Some jurists are of the view that her death invalidates the deferred time, and the debt becomes due immediately. The Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Jurisprudence reads:

“According to the majority of jurists, debts are transferred to the heirs in the same condition as they were during the lifetime of the debtee. Whatever is due immediately is transferred to the heirs immediately, and whatever is deferred or to be paid in installments is transferred as deferred as it was since the deferred term, according to them, is not invalidated by the death of the debtee.”

It was narrated on the authority of Al-Layth, Al-Sha’bi, and Al-Nakha’i that whoever dies and has a deferred debt, it will be transferred immediately after his death to his heirs, and the deferred term will be invalidated by his death. [End of Quote].

Allah knows best.