Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
After the transfer of debt, Imam al-Nawawi (631\u2013676 AH \/ 1233\u20131277 CE) presents the Book of Suretyship (Kitab al-Daman<\/em>). Where the transfer of debt replaces one debtor with another, suretyship adds a second person who stands behind the first. The guarantor makes himself answerable for a debt or for the appearance of a person, so that the creditor has an additional source of assurance. This makes credit easier to obtain, which is why the tradition encourages it as an act of kindness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The legal basis includes the Qur’anic story in which a pledge of responsibility is given for a measure of grain, and a report from the Prophet, who is related to have said that the guarantor is liable. Another report tells of a Companion who undertook the debt of a deceased man so that the Prophet would pray over him. The book builds on these sources. This article follows its main themes in the general order of the Minhaj<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The book treats three related forms, each with its own vocabulary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The parties to a guarantee of debt are the guarantor (dhamin<\/em>), the original debtor (madmun ‘anhu<\/em>), the creditor (madmun lahu<\/em>), and the debt itself (madmun<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pillars of the contract are the wording, the guarantor, the creditor, the original debtor, and the guaranteed debt. The guarantee is formed by words that express the undertaking, such as “I guarantee you what you are owed by so-and-so.” The guarantor must be competent to dispose of property, and must act of his own free will. A person under restriction, such as a minor or an insane person, cannot give a valid guarantee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Al-Nawawi addresses the question of consent. In the school’s position, the consent of the original debtor is not required, since a person may do a favor for another without being asked, and the guarantor is the one who takes on the burden. The details about the creditor’s acceptance are discussed in the book in light of the school’s positions on the contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The debt guaranteed must be established and binding at the time of the guarantee. The school’s position excludes a guarantee of something that is not yet owed, since there is nothing yet to guarantee, with certain exceptions, notably the guarantee of the price in a sale and similar established practices. The book also takes up the question of whether the amount must be known, and states that in the relied-upon position, a guarantee of an unknown sum is not valid, because of the uncertainty it carries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The guarantee may be given for a debt that is due later, and the guarantor takes on the same term as the original debtor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the guarantee is valid, the creditor has the right to claim the debt from either the original debtor or the guarantor, as he chooses. This is a significant difference from the transfer of debt, in which the original debtor is released. Here both remain liable, and the creditor may demand payment from the one he finds easier to collect from. The creditor may also release one without releasing the other, with consequences that the book describes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the guarantor pays the debt, the creditor’s claim is satisfied, and the original debtor is no longer liable to him. If the creditor releases the original debtor, the guarantor is also released, since a guarantee follows the debt it secures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A guarantor who has paid may sometimes claim the amount back from the original debtor, and the book states the conditions. In general, if the guarantor acted with the debtor’s permission, and paid with that permission, he may recover what he paid. If the guarantor acted without permission, he is treated as having made a gift, and has no right of recourse, according to the school’s relied-upon position. The book also covers the case of a guarantor who pays a debt in a different form from the original debt, and how the recovery is calculated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This section illustrates the principle that voluntary kindness should not be turned into a claim for repayment, unless the debtor asked for the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The book addresses the guarantee of a person’s appearance. A person may undertake to bring a debtor or a defendant to court when required. The school treats this as valid in the position it relies upon, with the consent of the one whose appearance is guaranteed. The surety is released by producing the person at the agreed time and place, or if the person dies or the right is dropped. In the Shafi’i position, if the surety fails to produce the person, he does not become liable for the money unless he explicitly guaranteed that as well, and the book explains how this differs from the guarantee of the debt itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A specific form of guarantee concerns the price in a sale. If a buyer pays the price and later the goods are found not to belong to the seller, the buyer is entitled to recover the price. A third person may guarantee that return. The school accepts this as an exception to the rule against guaranteeing what is not yet owed, because it is a customary and useful practice. The book describes when the guarantee takes effect and how it is limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Al-Nawawi also considers situations in which several guarantors are involved, or a guarantor is himself guaranteed. When there are multiple guarantors for the same debt, the creditor may claim from any of them, and the book explains how payments by one affect the others. The chapter also notes how death, insolvency, or the ending of the debt affect the guarantee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The book begins with the central contract, the guarantee of a debt, then covers its conditions, effects, and the guarantor’s right of recourse. It then turns to the related forms, personal guarantee and the guarantee of the sale price. This order puts the core contract first, so that the later cases can be understood as variations. It also keeps the chapter’s focus on the question that matters most in practice: who may be asked to pay, and who bears the loss in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For al-Nawawi, suretyship is an act of generosity regulated by law. The guarantor lends his reputation and his wealth to help another person obtain credit, and the law protects both sides: it gives the creditor firm security, and it gives the guarantor a right of recourse where he acted at the debtor’s request. The tradition’s moral caution stands beside the legal rules. The Prophet’s report that the guarantor is liable is a reminder to enter such commitments with care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: This article summarizes the general Shafi’i position as presented in Minhaj al-Talibin. Details, including the conditions of consent and the status of guarantees of unknown amounts, can vary between editions and commentaries and differ among the schools. Readers who need a precise ruling, especially for modern guarantees and surety arrangements, should consult a qualified teacher or scholar.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Part 2: Transactions (Mu\u2019amalat) – Suretyship (Daman) Part of a series on the structure of Minhaj al-Talibin, the classical Shafi’i<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","video_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[50,12,15,14,49,27],"class_list":["post-179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-part-2-transactions-muamalat","tag-daman","tag-fiqh","tag-imam-al-nawawi","tag-minhaj-al-thalibin","tag-suretyship","tag-transactions-muamalat"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lslam.info\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lslam.info\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lslam.info\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lslam.info\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lslam.info\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lslam.info\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":182,"href":"https:\/\/lslam.info\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179\/revisions\/182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lslam.info\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lslam.info\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lslam.info\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lslam.info\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. The terms and the kinds of suretyship<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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2. The pillars and the wording<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3. Conditions of the guaranteed debt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. The rights of the creditor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
5. The right of recourse<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
6. Guarantee of the person (kafalah<\/em>)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Guarantee](\"https:\/\/lslam.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/1-Kafalah_-A-Promise-to-Produce-a-Person-1024x936.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n7. Guarantee of the sale price (daman al-darak<\/em>)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
8. Joint guarantees and related cases<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why the order matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Closing reflection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n