What is the legal validity of a bankrupt individual's acknowledgment (Iqrar) of a debt while under injunction?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of the Insolvent (Bankruptcy)
Primary text
If the bankrupt individual acknowledges a debt, it only becomes binding upon them after the injunction is lifted. This is the explicit position of Ahmad, supported by Malik, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, Al-Thawri, and one opinion of Al-Shafi'i. The reasoning is that since they are under injunction, their acknowledgment regarding the restricted property is invalid, similar to an incompetent person or a mortgagor acknowledging the mortgagor's rights over the property. Moreover, the acknowledgment invalidates the established rights of others, or it is an acknowledgment against the existing body of creditors and thus inadmissible, similar to a pledgee's acknowledgment.
Supporting text
Another opinion holds that the acknowledgment permits the new creditor to share with the existing creditors because the debt relates back to a time before the injunction, provided the debt is established by evidence.