Disposing of the debt of a shop owner who moved and whose whereabouts are unknown

Question:
Perhaps we will conclude with this question. Your Eminence the Shaykh, this brother says — and although it has no connection to the topic of the lecture, but in deference to his request — that he borrowed a sum of money from one of the stores for a specific period. After he resolved to repay it, he found out that the store owner had closed his store and moved far away. What should he do with the money he borrowed?

Answer:
Ask about him. Ask about the store owner and where he went. Ask the people who deal with him. This is a store owner, not someone hidden. Ask those around him. Ask those who do business with him, and you will find, if Allah wills, a trace of him that you can rely on to deliver his right to him. Strive in this. If you exert the means and do not find him, then give this money in charity, with the intention that the reward belongs to the owner and that you are getting rid of it. If he comes later and claims his right, give it to him, and the reward will be yours. And if he wishes to let the charity stand and have the reward for himself, that is his right. Yes.