Two sellers left a bag containing some of their merchandise with him and fled in fear when he asked them for their identification cards
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Fatwa number ( 10431 )
Q: We inform you that on Friday, dated 7/10/1407 AH, two Indians came to us and knocked on the door of our house at six in the evening. I went out to them and asked, "What do you want?" They replied, "We are selling agarwood and its derivatives." I asked them, "Who do you work for?" They told me, "We work for Nasser al-Hajri." I asked them for proof of this, as we are in a village located about (20) twenty kilometers from the headquarters of the man they claimed was their guarantor. They pointed to their pockets to take out what would prove their claim, but their matter was quickly exposed, as they had no proof of what they said. They later told me that their residence permits and passports were with a Saudi man who was asking them for money. I told them, "You must ride with me in my private car so that we can go together to your guarantor or to the Saudi man you claimed has your passports and residence permits." While we were talking, fear took hold of them, and they said to me, "This is our bag with you, and we are going to bring our guarantor." I replied to them, "We must go together to your guarantor,
to your guarantor, and they left their bag and fled. It contained a small amount of agarwood worth approximately five hundred riyals. Note that the reasons that led me to ask them for proof of their identities were their repeated visits to the area and their knocking on house doors, even though most of the people they knocked on were women, and at sensitive times such as the times of prayer; like the Maghrib prayer, the Isha' prayer, and during the day at nine and ten in the morning. The result: It became clear to us later that these mentioned individuals entered the country in an unlawful manner, through sneaking in. The summary of my question is: How should I deal with this bag and the agarwood inside it, and do we bear any sin for what we did with these people? Knowing that we are not responsible and have no connection to the security apparatus in this regard, except that the fear of theft and attacks on houses is what motivated us in what happened with the mentioned individuals, as such attacks occur in the same area where we are. Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good.
A: If it is difficult for you to identify the owners of the bag containing the agarwood, then you should sell it and give its price in charity on their behalf. If they come to you, inform them of what you did. If they approve it, otherwise the charity becomes from you, and you pay them the value of the agarwood you sold.
Q: We inform you that on Friday, dated 7/10/1407 AH, two Indians came to us and knocked on the door of our house at six in the evening. I went out to them and asked, "What do you want?" They replied, "We are selling agarwood and its derivatives." I asked them, "Who do you work for?" They told me, "We work for Nasser al-Hajri." I asked them for proof of this, as we are in a village located about (20) twenty kilometers from the headquarters of the man they claimed was their guarantor. They pointed to their pockets to take out what would prove their claim, but their matter was quickly exposed, as they had no proof of what they said. They later told me that their residence permits and passports were with a Saudi man who was asking them for money. I told them, "You must ride with me in my private car so that we can go together to your guarantor or to the Saudi man you claimed has your passports and residence permits." While we were talking, fear took hold of them, and they said to me, "This is our bag with you, and we are going to bring our guarantor." I replied to them, "We must go together to your guarantor,
to your guarantor, and they left their bag and fled. It contained a small amount of agarwood worth approximately five hundred riyals. Note that the reasons that led me to ask them for proof of their identities were their repeated visits to the area and their knocking on house doors, even though most of the people they knocked on were women, and at sensitive times such as the times of prayer; like the Maghrib prayer, the Isha' prayer, and during the day at nine and ten in the morning. The result: It became clear to us later that these mentioned individuals entered the country in an unlawful manner, through sneaking in. The summary of my question is: How should I deal with this bag and the agarwood inside it, and do we bear any sin for what we did with these people? Knowing that we are not responsible and have no connection to the security apparatus in this regard, except that the fear of theft and attacks on houses is what motivated us in what happened with the mentioned individuals, as such attacks occur in the same area where we are. Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good.
A: If it is difficult for you to identify the owners of the bag containing the agarwood, then you should sell it and give its price in charity on their behalf. If they come to you, inform them of what you did. If they approve it, otherwise the charity becomes from you, and you pay them the value of the agarwood you sold.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.