Repayment of Debts
Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) narrates, “When Hazrat Zubair (ra) was standing on the day of the Battle of the Camel, he called me and I stood beside him.” He then said, “O my dear son, today either the oppressors shall be killed, or the oppressed. It seems as though I shall be killed in a state of being oppressed. My greatest worry is regarding my debt. Do you think there will be enough money from my wealth to pay off my debt?” He further stated, “My son, repay my debts by selling my wealth. I pledge a third of my wealth and so after repaying my debts, if there is any wealth remaining, then a third of it is for your children.” He pledged whatever remained for Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair’s (ra) children.
Hisham said that the sons of Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) were the same age as Hazrat Zubair’s (ra) sons, Khubaib and Abbad. Meaning Hazrat Abdullah’s sons were of similar age to his own brothers. At that time, Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) had nine daughters. Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) relates that Hazrat Zubair (ra) began stating his will regarding the debts he owed, saying, “O my son, if you are unable to repay any portion of my debt, then seek help from my Master.” Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) states that he did not understand what he meant by “master,” and so he asked him, “Who is your master?” Hazrat Zubair (ra) replied, “It is Allah.” Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) states that whenever he faced difficulty in repaying his father’s debts, he would say, “O Zubair’s master, repay his debt.” Accordingly, the debt would be paid off, meaning Allah the Almighty would arrange the means for the repayment of this debt. Whatever property had been left behind would prove sufficient in repaying the debt. When Hazrat Zubair (ra) was martyred, he did not own a single dirham or dinar except a few plots of land, which included Ghabah. He had 11 properties in Medina, two properties in Basra, one in Kufa and one in Egypt.
The manner in which Hazrat Zubair (ra) came into debt was that people used to bring their wealth to keep it with him as a trust, but he would fear the possibility of that wealth being spent, therefore he would consider it as loan. He wouldn’t take the wealth as a trust but said he would take it as a loan and would thus spend from it as well. Furthermore, the wealth would remain safe from any potential loss, hence he would tell them that he was taking it as a loan and would repay it. In any case, Hazrat Zubair (ra) never became affluent, whether it be through accumulating wealth or generating revenue, nor from any other financial endeavour. However, he would participate in battles alongside the Holy Prophet (sa), Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), Hazrat Umar (ra) and Hazrat Uthman (ra). In other words, he always participated in Jihad, but he was not from among those who accumulated wealth.
Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) relates that when he calculated his father’s debt, it amounted to 2.2 million.
Hazrat Hakim bin Hizam (ra) once met Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) and asked, “O my nephew, how much debt does my brother have to repay?” Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) concealed the actual amount and said, “100,000”. Hazrat Hakim bin Hizam (ra) said, “By God, I do not think you have enough wealth to repay this.” He said that this was based on the apparent wealth he had. Then Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) said, “If I were to tell you that the debt is in fact 2.2 million, what would you say?” To this he replied, “I do not think you could bear such a debt – it will be difficult to repay. If you are unable to repay it then come to me for help. I will pay the debt for you.”
Hazrat Zubair (ra) had purchased Ghabah for 170,000; Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) sold it for 1.6 million. He then announced that if anyone was owed an amount by Hazrat Zubair (ra), they should meet him in Ghabah. Upon selling the land in Ghabah for 1.6 million, he announced that if anyone was owed a debt, they should come to Ghabah to collect it.
Hazrat Abdullah bin Jafar (ra) was owed 400,000 by Hazrat Zubair (ra); he said to Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra), “If you like I can pardon this debt or if you like, you can include this amongst the debts you owe, on the condition that you will repay it later.” Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) refused this offer. And so, Hazrat Abdullah bin Jafar(ra) said that in that case he could give him a piece of the land. Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) said, “Your portion will be from here to here”, and gave that portion of the land to Hazrat Abdullah bin Jafar (ra) as a repayment of the debt.
Subsequently, there were four and a half portions of the land remaining. Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) went to Hazrat Muawiyyah (ra). This is an incident from the era of Hazrat Muawiyyah. Amr bin Uthman, Munzir bin Zubair and Ibn Zam‘ah were also present there. Hazrat Muawiyyah (ra) asked what the price of the land in Ghabah was. Hazrat Ibn Zubair (ra) informed him that each portion was worth 100,000. Hazrat Muawiyyah (ra) then asked how many portions of the land remained. He informed him that there were four and a half portions remaining. Munzir bin Zubair said that he would purchase one portion for 100,000. Amr bin Uthman said that he would purchase one portion for 100,000 and Ibn Zam‘ah also said that he would purchase one portion for 100,000. Then, Hazrat Muawiyyah (ra) asked how many portions remained, to which Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) replied that one and a half portions remained. Hazrat Muawiyyah (ra) said that he would purchase the remaining portion for 150,000. Thus, the land which remained in Ghabah was also sold. Abdullah bin Jafar (ra) later sold his portion to Hazrat Muawiyyah for 600,000.
Thus, just as Hazrat Zubair (ra) had said, Allah the Almighty would create means for the debt to be cleared; hence, some of his property was sold and the debt was repaid. When Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) had completely repaid the debt, Hazrat Zubair’s (ra) progeny asked for their inheritance to be given to them, [saying] now that the debt had been repaid, they wanted their share of inheritance. Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) said, “No. By God, I will not distribute it among you until I have made an announcement on the day of Hajj for four years”, meaning he would make an announcement on the occasion of Hajj for four years that anyone who was owed a debt by Hazrat Zubair (ra) should come to him so that they may repay it. Thus, he made this announcement at Hajj for four years; when four years had passed, he distributed the inheritance among the progeny of Hazrat Zubair (ra).