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Is it permissible to take an amount of money from the debtor that exceeds the value of the dues, due to the harm incurred by the creditor as a result of the employer's delay in paying the dues and his refusal to negotiate for years, which forced the creditor to borrow to fulfill his obligations?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A person is not permitted to take more than their established right. Whoever claims something must prove it to the competent authorities, in accordance with the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "If people were to be given according to their claims, men would claim the lives and wealth of others. But the burden of proof is upon the claimant, and the oath is upon the one who denies."

As for the issue of a person taking their right from another's property without their permission if the latter denies their right, oppresses them, and it is impossible to access it except by stratagem – which jurists call "al-Dhafr" (seizure) – some have permitted it. Imam al-Qurtubi holds that it is permissible for a person to obtain their right by any means, as long as they are not considered a thief. This is also the view of al-Shafi'i and the choice of Ibn al-Arabi. If the wronged person seizes property of a different kind from their own right, they may take the equivalent value of their right after careful investigation, and this is the correct view.

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

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