Disposing of a valuable watch found at a gas station
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
This man asks: A man was traveling and found a valuable watch at one of the gas stations. He then took the watch and did not know its owner. After a while, he repented to Allah and wanted to get rid of this watch. Should he give it in charity or give it to the police?
Answer:
He made a mistake by taking the watch without identifying its owner or knowing who it belonged to. He made a mistake, and it is not permissible for him to do that. Now, if he knows the owner, it is obligatory for him to return it to him. If he does not know the owner and it is not possible to identify him, and he has given up hope of reaching him, then he should sell it and give its price in charity. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
This man asks: A man was traveling and found a valuable watch at one of the gas stations. He then took the watch and did not know its owner. After a while, he repented to Allah and wanted to get rid of this watch. Should he give it in charity or give it to the police?
Answer:
He made a mistake by taking the watch without identifying its owner or knowing who it belonged to. He made a mistake, and it is not permissible for him to do that. Now, if he knows the owner, it is obligatory for him to return it to him. If he does not know the owner and it is not possible to identify him, and he has given up hope of reaching him, then he should sell it and give its price in charity. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/195 — archive.org (13:17)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.