Mua’wiyah Ibn Wahab narrates:
I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): We have heard that once, a person from amongst the Ansaar died while in a state of debt; the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) refused to offer the prayers over him saying: “First clear off his debts and then offer prayers over him”
Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: What you have heard is true and correct. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) acted in this manner in order so that the people do not take their debts lightly.
The Imam (peace be upon him) then continued: The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny), Amirul Mu’mineen, Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (peace be upon them) – all of them died while in a state of debt and all their debts were then paid off. Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) sold the garden of Imam Husain (peace be upon him) for three hundred thousand dirhams and paid off his debts; Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) sold Amirul Mu’mineen’s (peace be upon him) property for five hundred thousand dirhams and cleared the debts of his father; for three years, during the season of Hajj, Amirul Mu’mineen (peace be upon him) would call out: “Whoever has lent money to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) should come to me so that I can clear the loan.( Safinah al-Bihaar, vol. 1, pg. 477. )