The ruling on not informing the owner of sheep about a decrease in their number
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
We listen to 'Ayd Mahmud Kahub, who sent a message asking and saying: I was a shepherd for sheep, and some of the sheep were easy to catch at the water source, but I did not inform the owner of the flock about it out of fear. Am I sinful? If they perished without my transgression, there is no liability on you and no guarantee for you.
Answer:
There is no blame on you because you did not transgress. However, informing the owner is what clears your conscience and prevents him from forming a bad opinion of you. It is obligatory for you to inform him of the truth and what happened to this livestock, and that they were lost due to such and such, in order to clear your conscience from the responsibility, and so that the owner is aware of their situation and knows the reality, and so that he does not think ill of you.
The presenter:
Yes. May Allah reward you with good,
We listen to 'Ayd Mahmud Kahub, who sent a message asking and saying: I was a shepherd for sheep, and some of the sheep were easy to catch at the water source, but I did not inform the owner of the flock about it out of fear. Am I sinful? If they perished without my transgression, there is no liability on you and no guarantee for you.
Answer:
There is no blame on you because you did not transgress. However, informing the owner is what clears your conscience and prevents him from forming a bad opinion of you. It is obligatory for you to inform him of the truth and what happened to this livestock, and that they were lost due to such and such, in order to clear your conscience from the responsibility, and so that the owner is aware of their situation and knows the reality, and so that he does not think ill of you.
The presenter:
Yes. May Allah reward you with good,
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 01/120 — archive.org (4:38)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.