Solvency (mala'a) in the law of debt

In the lexicon mala'a is wealth and capacity, and a solvent man is one who is rich and trustworthy. For the jurists it is wealth and means; Ahmad held that it is required in property, speech and body. ^{1 2}

Insolvency, i'sar, is the opposite: lacking the means to maintain oneself or to pay what is owed, with no property or earnings. ²

The jurists differ on zakat on a debt owed by a solvent debtor. ²

The shafi' takes the share at the price fixed by the contract. If the price is deferred, the Malikis and Hanbalis let him take it on the same deferred terms, provided he is solvent on the day of taking or gives a solvent surety or a sound pledge. The Hanafis and, in the sounder view, the Shafi'is let him choose between paying at once or waiting until the term ends. ^{2 3 4}

The majority hold that the solvency of the debtor being guaranteed is not required, so the surety of anyone owing a right is valid, living or dead, solvent or bankrupt; they cite the report of the prayer over a dead man who owed a debt, and Abu Qatada's surety for it. Abu Hanifa required the creditor in a surety to be solvent. ^{4 5}

A solvent debtor owing a debt that is due must pay when asked, on the saying: 'the procrastination of the rich is injustice'. The judge may grant time to sell goods; the Malikis grant it only against a surety. ^{5 6}

The Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis imprison a solvent debtor who stalls. The Hanafis require the creditor to ask for it. A parent is not held for a child's debt, but a child may be held for a parent's; a guardian of a minor may be held if he may pay the debt. Where the debtor persists, the Shafi'is and Hanbalis have the judge sell his property, or punish him again and again. ^{6 7 8}

The Hanafis, when a creditor and debtor each have witnesses, prefer the creditor's witnesses to show wealth. The Malikis prefer evidence of solvency with a stated cause. The Hanbalis take the creditor's claim of wealth as the default, unless the debtor is shown to have lost his property or has no property the claim could be based on. ^{8 9 10 11}

A solvent debtor owing a debt that is due may be prevented from travel until he pays, unless the debt is secured by a sound pledge or a solvent surety, or the journey is a binding jihad or part of a ritual the debtor has entered. A deferred debt does not bar travel, according to the Hanafis and Shafi'is. ^{12 13}

A wife's maintenance follows the means of husband and wife, citing the verse 'let the one of wide means spend from his wide means' in the surah of Divorce. Support of poor parents is owed from a child's property, by consensus. ^{13 14}