What should one do who repented for stealing from shops in his youth?

Question:
May Allah reward you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner says: A man used to steal food items and money from shops before he reached puberty. Now that he has grown up, he has repented. What is obligatory for him, given that he does not know the amount he took?

Answer:
If he knows the owners of these shops, he should seek their forgiveness or return to them what he took from them. If they forgive him, that is fine; otherwise, he must return what he took from them. His conscience is not cleared except by doing so, because the rights of creation are not dropped by repentance. He must either return them or seek their forgiveness. If he does not know them, he should estimate what he took and give it in charity with the intention that the reward belongs to the owners. Yes.