Zimem Ledger

The Zimem Ledger — known today as the credit ledger — refers to the seller noting down goods that have been taken and thereby recording a future debt for the buyer.

The Zimem Ledger, the graceful practice of competing in good works and of mutual assistance in which the receiving hand does not know the giving hand, is kept alive by MÜSİAD members.

In the Ottoman period, wealthy individuals would buy zimem ledgers by paying all the debts written in them. The Zimem Ledger practice was relaunched through the initiatives of Nail Olpak, the 5th President of MÜSİAD, and the goodwill of our members. Beginning as a practice specific to the month of Ramadan alone, the Zimem Ledger ceased to be limited to a single month with the call of Abdurrahman Kaan, President of MÜSİAD in its 6th term, for our members and for wealthy individuals to sustain this precious tradition throughout all 12 months of the year.

One of the points that makes the practice special is that, in faithfulness to the hadith “let not the left hand see what the right hand gives”, the debtor and the person paying the debt neither see nor know one another. Contributing today to the continuity of this fine tradition and giving expression to an awareness of existing need not only makes us proud as MÜSİAD, but also strengthens our hope in terms of keeping the spirit of mutual assistance alive.