A muslim brother owed me some amount of money. He died recently (innalillahi). Before his death, I did have a passing thought of foregoing the money as zakaat but i didn’t want to do it all at once. Please let me know if that amount which he has not been able to pay me back can be considered as zakaat or sadqa ? He was also in heavy debt at the time of death.
The amount which he owes cannot be considered as Zakat by foregoing the money. (Ahsanul Fataawa vol.4 pg.260)
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai