Question :
A creditor whispered to himself: "If the debtor repays the debt in this worldly life, it is my right. If he does not, then I have forgiven him in the Hereafter. "However, he continued to demand this debt, but encountered procrastination from the debtor. According to Islamic Law, is it permissible for the creditor to retract his forgiveness in the Hereafter, knowing the virtue of forgiveness in the sight of Allah The Almighty?
The Answer :
All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
Allah The Almighty has forgiven the whispers of the soul, as reflected by the Hadith in which the Prophet (PBUH) said: "Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, has forgiven my Ummah for what is whispered to them or what enters their minds, so long as they do not act upon it or speak of it." [Bukhari].
The right to claim the debt – as mentioned in the above question- isn`t not waived, as evidenced by the absence of an explicit verbal expression of forgiveness, and the creditor's firm intention to continue pursuing the debt. Al-Imam Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Anything that one's tongue has not uttered is considered mere whispering of the soul for which a person isn`t held to account." [Al-Um, Vol. 5/P. 278].
In conclusion, the right to claim the debt isn`t waived since the matter is mere whispers of the soul that haven`t been expressed verbally. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
