If the public treasury is not well-organized, should the funds be paid to it?
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Question : Likewise, there are usurped items whose owners are unknown. That is, a person usurps something from someone, meaning he takes it by force, then Allah grants him guidance and he repents. But he does not know the man from whom he usurped it. So where does this go? It is given to the public treasury, but if the public treasury is not well-organized,
Answer : he may give it in charity himself. Imam Ahmad said, “As for our rulers, I do not see that anything should be given to them.” He said, “As for our rulers, I do not see that anything should be given to them.” Some of the commentators said, “If this was the case in the time of Imam Ahmad, what can be said about our time?”
But the truth is that the matter is not absolute, because, as you know, some of the caliphs may have been trustworthy men who feared Allah and were afraid of Allah, even if they came after Imam Ahmad. And it has become apparent that some of the caliphs were of that nature. The closest example of this is 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him), though he was before Imam Ahmad. 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz appeared among governors who were not like him. In any case, if a person fears that if he gives this money to the public treasury it will be lost, then it is obligatory for him to give it in charity. So he gives it in charity himself, either as an obligation or as a recommended practice.
Answer : he may give it in charity himself. Imam Ahmad said, “As for our rulers, I do not see that anything should be given to them.” He said, “As for our rulers, I do not see that anything should be given to them.” Some of the commentators said, “If this was the case in the time of Imam Ahmad, what can be said about our time?”
But the truth is that the matter is not absolute, because, as you know, some of the caliphs may have been trustworthy men who feared Allah and were afraid of Allah, even if they came after Imam Ahmad. And it has become apparent that some of the caliphs were of that nature. The closest example of this is 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him), though he was before Imam Ahmad. 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz appeared among governors who were not like him. In any case, if a person fears that if he gives this money to the public treasury it will be lost, then it is obligatory for him to give it in charity. So he gives it in charity himself, either as an obligation or as a recommended practice.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 153- إذا كان بيت المال غير منتظم، فهل تُدفع إليه الأموال؟ - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
