He says, “I work in the profession of repairing watches, but I am suffering from a problem that bothers me greatly and has made me think of leaving this profession, which is that many of
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The questioner : He says, “I work in the profession of repairing watches, but I am suffering from a problem that bothers me greatly and has made me think of leaving this profession, which is that many people bring their watches to me for repair, and then I give them an appointment to pick them up after they are repaired. However, many of them do not return until a long time has passed while the watches are with me. What is the ruling in this case? Is it permissible for me to dispose of them by selling them or the like, or not?”
The Shaykh : The ruling in this matter is that if you do not know the man who gave you this watch and you have lost hope of his return, you should sell the watch and keep the price of it with you. When its owner comes, give him the choice and say to him: “I lost hope in you, and I sold the watch and gave its price in charity. If you wish, I will proceed with this and the reward is for you. If you wish, I will guarantee you the value of your watch and the reward is for me.” So give him the choice. For this reason, it is recommended for you, my brother, when someone brings you his watch for repair, that you write down his name, address, and phone number if he has one. That way, if he is absent from you for a long time, you can contact him at his address or phone number, and by doing so, you will be safe from this problem and you will be able to deliver the right to its owner. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with the best reward.
The Shaykh : The ruling in this matter is that if you do not know the man who gave you this watch and you have lost hope of his return, you should sell the watch and keep the price of it with you. When its owner comes, give him the choice and say to him: “I lost hope in you, and I sold the watch and gave its price in charity. If you wish, I will proceed with this and the reward is for you. If you wish, I will guarantee you the value of your watch and the reward is for me.” So give him the choice. For this reason, it is recommended for you, my brother, when someone brings you his watch for repair, that you write down his name, address, and phone number if he has one. That way, if he is absent from you for a long time, you can contact him at his address or phone number, and by doing so, you will be safe from this problem and you will be able to deliver the right to its owner. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with the best reward.