Q: I owe creditors few thousand rands for products provided to me when I once had a business. I had to close the business. At that point in time I could not pay these creditors. A few years have passed by and I am now in a position to pay them but cannot trace them. I have tried several times to locate them but to no avail. I do not want to owe them as I know the repercussions of unpaid debt. What is the best way forward?
A: The way forward is encapsulated in the following list:
1.Try and trace the relatives of these creditors and hand over the money to them.
2. If the relatives too, are untraceble, then IF THE CREDITORS ARE MUSLIMS, give the amount you owe them to poor Muslims or non-Muslims as charity, but don't have any intention of reward becasue the reward will accrue to your creditors.
A: The way forward is encapsulated in the following list:
1.Try and trace the relatives of these creditors and hand over the money to them.
2. If the relatives too, are untraceble, then IF THE CREDITORS ARE MUSLIMS, give the amount you owe them to poor Muslims or non-Muslims as charity, but don't have any intention of reward becasue the reward will accrue to your creditors.
Mufti Siraj Desai