The Debtor:

Repaying the creditor on time: The debtor should take initiative to repay the creditor as soon as the loan is due. If the debtor is financially unable to repay it all, then at least he should start paying in instalments if he possesses the money to do so. One should rush in repayment, because loans will be a hard thing on him in his grave.

Repaying in the best manner: The debtor should repay in the best manner. Abu Hurayrah reported: “A harsh Bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah asking him to repay a young camel he had borrowed from this Bedouin. The Bedouin used harsh words when he was demanding his money, so the companions were about to strike him for doing so, but the Messenger of Allah said: “Leave him! Indeed a creditor has the right to demand it (i.e. his loan)” the companions could not find a young camel among the brought ones (from Zakah) to match the level of that which was borrowed, and informed the Messenger of Allah that all the camels were of the best type. The Prophet said: “Give it to him, for it is the best of all people who pays back in the best manner.”'  [Muslim]. In another narration narrated by Abu Sa’eed the Prophet told the Companions who were enraged with the Bedouin: “You should side with the one who is demanding his right”

Unfortunately, nowadays people hardly side with the one demanding his right, and in some cases even judges deprive people from their rights, and receive bribes to side with the debtor instead of siding with the creditor … woe to them and what a severe punishment awaits them in Hell on the Day of Judgment. 

When the Bedouin saw the good manner in which the Prophet repaid him, he thanked him, and thereupon the Prophet said: “These are the best type of people (i.e. who repay in the best manner). There is no good in a nation whose poor cannot take their rights from their rich without being harassed”. The Prophet said this because sometimes the poor might get his right back but only after he suffers and is delayed and is put in embarrassing situations.

Additionally, the debtor must rely on Allah in his attempt to repay the creditor. Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “A man from the children of Israeli asked another to lend him one thousand Deenars. The second said, `I want a surety witness’ the former replied, `Allah is sufficient as a surety witness’ The second said, you are right, and he lent him the money for an appointed time. The debtor went across the sea, and when he finished his job, he searched for a conveyance so that he might reach in time for the repayment of the debt, but he could not find any. So, he took a piece of wood, made a hole in it, inserted in it one thousand Deenars and a letter to the lender and then closed (i.e. sealed) the hole tightly. He took the piece of wood to the sea and said: “O Allah! You Know very well that I took a loan of one thousand Deenars from so-and-so. He demanded a surety from me but I told him that Allah’s Guarantee was sufficient, and he accepted Your Guarantee. He then asked for a witness and I told him that Allah was sufficient as a witness, and he accepted You as a witness. No doubt, I tried hard to find a conveyance so that I could pay his money but I could not find any, so I hand over this money to You” Saying that, he threw the piece of wood into the sea till it went out far into it, and then he went away. Meanwhile he started searching for a conveyance in order to reach the creditor’s country.

One day the lender came out of his house to see whether a ship had arrived bringing his money, and all of a sudden he saw the piece of wood (i.e. the one in which his money had been deposited). He took it home to use for fire. When he sawed it, he found his money and the letter inside it. Shortly after that, the debtor came bringing one thousand Deenars to him and said, By Allah, I had been trying hard to get a boat so that I could bring you your money, but failed to get one before the one I have come by. The lender asked, have you sent something to me? The debtor replied, `I have told you I could not get a boat other than the one I have come by. The lender said, `Allah has delivered on your behalf the money you sent in the piece of wood. So, you may keep your one thousand Deenars so depart guided on the right path”. [Al-Bukhari]

This is the consequence of relying on Allah, and when one’s intention is sincere in repayment, then Allah will assist him in his attempt. The problem that faces many indebted people is that they are not truly sincere in their intention to repay the debt to the creditor and thus they become deprived of the assistance of Allah.

Procrastinating payment:  Some debtors delay and procrastinate for no need even when they have the money to repay, but he acts so mean and low and pays back in instalments to the creditor. One might have a debt of fifty thousand for example, and starts repaying five hundred every month, other months he might pay only two hundred, and a third month he would pay a thousand and so on, despite him having the entire amount, but he just wants the creditor to give up on him and his debt, and this is extreme stinginess.

Such people make the creditor appear like the poor person who is chasing after money, whilst it is his right. He forces him in some cases to beg him to repay, so that he (i.e. the creditor) can fulfill his own obligations which he might have arranged their payment based on the agreed upon promise of repayment from the debtor.

Finally, it is recommended that the debtor says nice words of gratitude to the creditor upon repaying him as this softens the heart and encourages the creditor to loan others in the future.