Q: I live in the UK for the last 14 years. I had a very difficult time till 2017. I did not have any reasonable job till 2010, then with Allah's blessings I started working as a taxi driver and paid off some of my debts. Allhamdulillah, now I have a decent job and a regular earning but I still owe a big amount (£75,000) to my family and friends which I am finding very hard to save to pay. We do have gold, just over the limit of zakat but not enough to pay off any significant amount of the money.
1. Do we need to pay zakat on the gold we have?
2. Can we get any financial help to pay off this amount we owe to family and friends? We don't owe banks much, apart from our mortgage as I have already paid off around £30,000.
3. Please guide me in this difficult situation.
A:
1. Since you are owing more than the assets you possess, zakaat is not compulsory upon you.
2. If people are willing to assist you with zakaat, lillah etc., it will be permissible for you to accept the financial assistance.
3. Ensure that you perform all your salaah on time with jamaat in the musjid and thereafter beg Allah Ta’ala to assist you in your difficulty. To receive barkah in your wealth, recite the following dua after salaah. May Allah Ta’ala make everything easy for you.
اَللَّهُمَّ اكْفِنِيْ بِحَلَالِكَ عَنْ حَرَامِكَ وَأَغْنِنِيْ بِفَضْلِكَ عَمَّنْ سِوَاكَ
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
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