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Is it permissible to seek help from people to pay off a housing debt, in light of an inability to work?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is permissible for someone who cannot find a way to repay their debt and is unable to earn a living to ask people for help. This is known as "asking out of necessity," and scholars have agreed on its permissibility. The needy person who cannot find what suffices them and is unable to earn a living is allowed to ask people for help to meet their needs only, whereas it is forbidden for someone who is not in need or is able to earn a living. Similarly, a debtor who is unable to repay their debt is permitted to receive from Zakat and ask for it, provided the debt was not incurred as a result of a sin.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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