His brother worked in the army and passed away, so some of his children registered in his brother's name to receive his salary
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Fatwa number ( 11940 )
Q: I made a mistake out of ignorance, due to a lack of resources and the poverty that befell us, which is not hidden from Your Eminence, regarding our situation fifty years ago. I explain to Your Eminence the following: 1 - I had a paternal brother who worked in the Arab army fifty years ago, specifically in the year 1368 AH. 2 - He traveled in that same year with the Arab armies to fight in the war in Palestine in the battle there. He was unmarried, and our father (may Allah have mercy on him) passed away before that date, as did his mother, and he left no heirs except me, his brother. 3 - Some people, who were more ignorant than I, advised me to make two of my children the children of my deceased brother, and they helped me do so. At that time, there was no strictness or investigation like there is now. I applied to the competent authorities in the state, stating that these children were the children of my deceased brother, named (A. A.), and they were a girl and a boy. I was asked about the wife, and I said: she passed away. Then the procedures were carried out, and I received my brother's salary for a period of time. After knowledge spread among the people and scholars appeared, and when we understood some matters of the religion, I realized that this is not permissible, and that Allah
forbade adoption, I went to the Ministry of Finance and renounced that salary that was being paid for my brother, and I regretted what I had done. That was thirty years ago. The salary at that time was around eighty or less; I do not remember it. The girl and the boy whom I considered as my brother's children are still alive, and they are under my name. The boy is married and has ten children, and the girl is also married, having been so for thirty-two years, and her current age is over fifty. My current age is over seventy-five, and I have become incapacitated, and I seek forgiveness from Allah. Your Eminence: I ask for your guidance on what I should do, and whether any sin remains on me for this action, and whether the saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic applies to me:[An-Nisa 4:17] since I have become like a thief among people. Whenever I am asked for a word of truth in any of the courts or by some people, due to my advanced age, I am met by some of the wicked with the accusation that I am a fraud, and nothing I say can be heard, because I placed children for my brother without him being married or having children. I ask Allah, then Your Eminence, to guide me to what you see fit, since the punishment of this world is easier than the punishment of the Hereafter, if there is any punishment for me. May Allah guide you, reward you, and make you beneficial to the Muslims. This
is my peace upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. I await the guidance of Your Eminence with great impatience, and the matter is with Allah, and Allah is sufficient for me, and He is the best Disposer of affairs.
A: If the matter is as you described, you must repent to Allah the Glorious and Exalted for that, by regretting what has passed from you and resolving not to return to it, along with abandoning it by giving charity with the money that came to you through this lie, if you are able. If you are unable, it remains a debt in your obligation that you will pay when you are able. If you die before paying it, you should bequeath it from your estate so that it is paid on your behalf in the causes of righteousness, specifying its amount according to your estimate and effort, if you are not certain of it now. We ask Allah to forgive us, you, and every Muslim. If some of your children or others pay it on your behalf, there is no harm. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: I made a mistake out of ignorance, due to a lack of resources and the poverty that befell us, which is not hidden from Your Eminence, regarding our situation fifty years ago. I explain to Your Eminence the following: 1 - I had a paternal brother who worked in the Arab army fifty years ago, specifically in the year 1368 AH. 2 - He traveled in that same year with the Arab armies to fight in the war in Palestine in the battle there. He was unmarried, and our father (may Allah have mercy on him) passed away before that date, as did his mother, and he left no heirs except me, his brother. 3 - Some people, who were more ignorant than I, advised me to make two of my children the children of my deceased brother, and they helped me do so. At that time, there was no strictness or investigation like there is now. I applied to the competent authorities in the state, stating that these children were the children of my deceased brother, named (A. A.), and they were a girl and a boy. I was asked about the wife, and I said: she passed away. Then the procedures were carried out, and I received my brother's salary for a period of time. After knowledge spread among the people and scholars appeared, and when we understood some matters of the religion, I realized that this is not permissible, and that Allah
forbade adoption, I went to the Ministry of Finance and renounced that salary that was being paid for my brother, and I regretted what I had done. That was thirty years ago. The salary at that time was around eighty or less; I do not remember it. The girl and the boy whom I considered as my brother's children are still alive, and they are under my name. The boy is married and has ten children, and the girl is also married, having been so for thirty-two years, and her current age is over fifty. My current age is over seventy-five, and I have become incapacitated, and I seek forgiveness from Allah. Your Eminence: I ask for your guidance on what I should do, and whether any sin remains on me for this action, and whether the saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic applies to me:
The repentance accepted by Allah is only for those who do wrong in ignorance [or carelessness] and then repent soon after. It is those to whom Allah will turn in forgiveness, and Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.
إِنَّمَا التَّوْبَةُ عَلَى اللَّهِ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السُّوءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُونَ مِنْ قَرِيبٍ فَأُولَئِكَ يَتُوبُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًاis my peace upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. I await the guidance of Your Eminence with great impatience, and the matter is with Allah, and Allah is sufficient for me, and He is the best Disposer of affairs.
A: If the matter is as you described, you must repent to Allah the Glorious and Exalted for that, by regretting what has passed from you and resolving not to return to it, along with abandoning it by giving charity with the money that came to you through this lie, if you are able. If you are unable, it remains a debt in your obligation that you will pay when you are able. If you die before paying it, you should bequeath it from your estate so that it is paid on your behalf in the causes of righteousness, specifying its amount according to your estimate and effort, if you are not certain of it now. We ask Allah to forgive us, you, and every Muslim. If some of your children or others pay it on your behalf, there is no harm. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.