The Employee Taking from the Company's Money on the Ground of Injustice

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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. A questioner says: Is it permissible for an employee to take money from his company without their knowledge on the grounds that they have wronged him regarding his right? Does this fall under the issue of seizing one’s right?

Answer:
He should demand his right. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Narrated Abu Hurairah: That the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Fulfill the trust for the one who entrusted you, and do not cheat the one who cheated you." [Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Gharib. Some of the people of knowledge followed this Hadith, they said that when something belonging to a man is with another and he leaves (with it), then he has something that belongs to him, he may not withhold from him an equivalent to what the other took of his. Some of the people of knowledge among the Tabi'in allowed that. This is the view of Sufyan Ath-Thawri, he said: "If one man has some Dirham that belong to another, and the second has some Dinar belonging to the first, he may not withhold any in place of his Dirham, unless it so happens that he has some Dirham of his, then in that case he can withhold some of his Dirham equal to what he is owed by the first."

أد الأمانة إلى من ائتمنك

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1264Da'if (Darussalam)

They have entrusted you as a partner with them

and do not cheat the one who cheated you

ولا تخن من خانك

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1264Da'if (Darussalam)

So seek your right. If they do not comply, file a complaint with the court. If you are unable to do either this or that, and you seize your right without wronging anyone, then take your right. Yes.

Source إغاثة اللهفان من مصائد الشيطان 15-03-1439هـ — alfawzan.live (1:02:08)

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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