If a person gives charity on behalf of people he wronged, does that expiate some of it?

Question : All right. The questioner says in her second question: Honorable Shaykh Muhammad, may Allah preserve you, if a person gives ongoing charity to people he has wronged, does this expiate what this person did by wronging them?

Answer : There is a distinction here. If the injustice can be rectified, then it must be rectified. For example, if he wronged them by taking something from their wealth, he must return that wealth to the heirs. His repentance is not complete except by doing so. So, if we suppose that he stole one hundred riyals from a person and then the victim died, the thief’s repentance is not complete except by giving the heirs the one hundred riyals he stole from their deceased father. However, if the right is a non-financial right, it is hoped that if he repents from it, Allah will accept his repentance and that He, Glorified and Exalted is He, will bear the injustice of the deceased person. And if he gives charity on his behalf in place of this injustice, that is better and more excellent.