I took money from one of the stations without right, and I repented to Allah. Is there a sin on me, and how do I return the money if the owner of the station has changed?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
He says: I went to perform 'Umrah with my family, and after the 'Umrah we traveled to the city of Jeddah. At one of the stations, my father gave me fifty riyals to buy items worth four riyals. I gave the cashier the money I had with me, and in the crowd he forgot how much I gave him and gave me four hundred and fifty riyals, along with the remainder of the fifty riyals he had given me. I remained silent about my mistake, took the money, and spent it in the city of Jeddah. After four years had passed, praise be to Allah, Allah guided me to the straight path, and I became, praise be to Allah, a mu'adhdhin (caller to prayer) at a mosque. I am now confused about my situation. What should I do? Is there a sin on me? Do I return the money to the owner of that station? Knowing that it is possible that the owner has changed. Please advise us, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh:
Praise be to Allah who guided you and granted you success in repentance. As for the money, it is obligatory for you to return it to its owner. You know the station on the road from which you took these riyals, so return it to the owner of the station. If he is the owner and the possessor of it, praise be to Allah. If it is a worker there and he is present, give it to him and remind him of what happened. If this worker has changed, then you speak to the owner of the station and the proprietor of the station, inform him of this, and pay him the money. The point is that you must return the money to the owner of the station by whatever means you can.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good and do you good.
The questioner:
Shaykh Salih, if the worker has changed his location and is no longer at the station, or if the owner of the station has also changed, do you advise her to do anything else?
The Shaykh:
He asks about the owner of the station if he has changed: ask those who are there where he went and where his place is.
The presenter:
We seek help from Allah.
The Shaykh:
So if she finds him, she sends him the money or goes to him with it. The important thing is to deliver it to him by any means. If she is unable to do so and cannot find the location of the owner of the money, she gives it in charity with the intention that the reward belongs to its owner.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, may Allah reward you with good.
He says: I went to perform 'Umrah with my family, and after the 'Umrah we traveled to the city of Jeddah. At one of the stations, my father gave me fifty riyals to buy items worth four riyals. I gave the cashier the money I had with me, and in the crowd he forgot how much I gave him and gave me four hundred and fifty riyals, along with the remainder of the fifty riyals he had given me. I remained silent about my mistake, took the money, and spent it in the city of Jeddah. After four years had passed, praise be to Allah, Allah guided me to the straight path, and I became, praise be to Allah, a mu'adhdhin (caller to prayer) at a mosque. I am now confused about my situation. What should I do? Is there a sin on me? Do I return the money to the owner of that station? Knowing that it is possible that the owner has changed. Please advise us, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh:
Praise be to Allah who guided you and granted you success in repentance. As for the money, it is obligatory for you to return it to its owner. You know the station on the road from which you took these riyals, so return it to the owner of the station. If he is the owner and the possessor of it, praise be to Allah. If it is a worker there and he is present, give it to him and remind him of what happened. If this worker has changed, then you speak to the owner of the station and the proprietor of the station, inform him of this, and pay him the money. The point is that you must return the money to the owner of the station by whatever means you can.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good and do you good.
The questioner:
Shaykh Salih, if the worker has changed his location and is no longer at the station, or if the owner of the station has also changed, do you advise her to do anything else?
The Shaykh:
He asks about the owner of the station if he has changed: ask those who are there where he went and where his place is.
The presenter:
We seek help from Allah.
The Shaykh:
So if she finds him, she sends him the money or goes to him with it. The important thing is to deliver it to him by any means. If she is unable to do so and cannot find the location of the owner of the money, she gives it in charity with the intention that the reward belongs to its owner.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, may Allah reward you with good.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، أخذت مالا من إحدى المحطات بغير حق، وتبت إلى الله، هل علي إثم ، وكيف أعيد المال إذا تغير صاحب المحطة؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.