1. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Husayn Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Muhammad ibn ’Isma‘il has narrated from al-Fadl ibn Shadhan from all from Safwan ibn Yahya from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Hajjaj who has said the following: “I once asked abu al-Hassan, the first (a.s.), about the case of my loan on a people, who have delayed payment for a long time. They are not able to pay and they are deserving beneficiaries of Zakat. Can I count it as payment of my Zakat? He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, you can do so.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar·Thaqalayn link·The Arabic above is the original.

2. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from al-Husayn ibn Sa‘id from his brother al-Hassan from Zur’ah ibn Muhammad from Sama‘ah who has said the following: “I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about a man to whom another man owes a certain amount of loan who is poor to whom he wants to pay Zakat. He (the Imam) said, ‘The poor may have something in his possession or potentials, which is equal in value to the amount of loan, such as certain effects like a house, household effects or a certain work that he performs. He (the lender) can offset the amount of Zakat that he owes against the loan that the poor person owes to him. It is not harmful. However, the poor person may not have any of the things mentioned like a house, household effects or a certain work for which he receives payment. He (the lender) cannot offset the amount of Zakat that he owes against the loan that the poor person owes to him; instead the lender must pay Zakat to him and not offset anything.”’

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar·Thaqalayn link·The Arabic above is the original.