Disposing of a watch taken in jest and not returned
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
A man took a watch from his colleague as a joke, knowing that he was aware of it. Years passed and he did not return it to him, and the owner did not remind him to return it. He then wanted to return it to him but could not find him. After that, he wanted to sell it and give its price in charity on behalf of the owner. It sold for fifty riyals, knowing that its value at the time was one thousand riyals. What should he do? Should he give one thousand riyals in charity, or fifty riyals, or should he give the watch itself in charity?
Answer:
It is prohibited. There is a hadith prohibiting one from taking his brother’s property, whether seriously or in jest, without his permission, because the Muslim’s wealth is respected. Therefore, it is not permissible to take it without his permission, whether seriously or in jest. What happened is that he erred in this. If the watch is still available and has benefit that can be derived from it, he should give it in charity. If the watch has been lost or destroyed, he should give its value in charity. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
A man took a watch from his colleague as a joke, knowing that he was aware of it. Years passed and he did not return it to him, and the owner did not remind him to return it. He then wanted to return it to him but could not find him. After that, he wanted to sell it and give its price in charity on behalf of the owner. It sold for fifty riyals, knowing that its value at the time was one thousand riyals. What should he do? Should he give one thousand riyals in charity, or fifty riyals, or should he give the watch itself in charity?
Answer:
It is prohibited. There is a hadith prohibiting one from taking his brother’s property, whether seriously or in jest, without his permission, because the Muslim’s wealth is respected. Therefore, it is not permissible to take it without his permission, whether seriously or in jest. What happened is that he erred in this. If the watch is still available and has benefit that can be derived from it, he should give it in charity. If the watch has been lost or destroyed, he should give its value in charity. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
شرح كتاب الكبائر للإمام محمد بن عبد الوهاب، بداية من باب الأمانة في البيع والشراء والكيل والوزن — islamhouse.com (1:21:28)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.