In Islamic law it is permissible to penalize a debtor who is financially sound but delays payment of debt without any genuine reason. Such act of the debtor is unjust as the Prophet (PBUH) has said, "A rich debtor who delays payment of debt commits Zulm".
A heavy non-performing portfolio and default on part of the clients is a serious problem confronting the financial institutions all over the world including Pakistan. This problem could be a threat to success of Islamic banking system. If clients do not honor their commitment in respect of timely payment of a debt created in installment sale, Murabaha, leasing or do not pay banks’ share of profit in participatory modes or do not deliver goods at stipulated time in Salam and Istisna’a, it could cause irreparable loss to the system, the banks and financial institutions and ultimately to savers and the economy. The jurists allow punishment (T´azir) to such borrower in the form of fine. In the opinion of some Maliki jurists a delaying borrower would be obliged to pay for charitable activities. In view of the severity of the problem, all Shariah bodies like Islamic Fiqh Academy of the OIC, Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, etc. have approved the provision of penalty clause in the contractual agreements that keeps a balance between the requirement in view of severity of the problem and that of the Shariah conditions/principles to keep the fine difference between interest and Murabaha profit intact. However, the penalty proceeds would be used for charity because penalty on default in repayment cannot become an automatic source of income for the creditor.
A heavy non-performing portfolio and default on part of the clients is a serious problem confronting the financial institutions all over the world including Pakistan. This problem could be a threat to success of Islamic banking system. If clients do not honor their commitment in respect of timely payment of a debt created in installment sale, Murabaha, leasing or do not pay banks’ share of profit in participatory modes or do not deliver goods at stipulated time in Salam and Istisna’a, it could cause irreparable loss to the system, the banks and financial institutions and ultimately to savers and the economy. The jurists allow punishment (T´azir) to such borrower in the form of fine. In the opinion of some Maliki jurists a delaying borrower would be obliged to pay for charitable activities. In view of the severity of the problem, all Shariah bodies like Islamic Fiqh Academy of the OIC, Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, etc. have approved the provision of penalty clause in the contractual agreements that keeps a balance between the requirement in view of severity of the problem and that of the Shariah conditions/principles to keep the fine difference between interest and Murabaha profit intact. However, the penalty proceeds would be used for charity because penalty on default in repayment cannot become an automatic source of income for the creditor.
Article Collected from State Bank Of Pakistan web site www.sbp.org.pk
