The ruling on clothes that remain in the laundry for more than four months
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Regarding the brother’s question about laundries, O Shaykh, you said: He waits ten days or fifteen days, but some clothes remain for four, five, or six months. Is the owner of the laundry permitted to sell them or use them?
Look, may Allah bless you, if there is a specific agreed-upon period between them, then once that period ends, he is free to give them in charity, sell them, or give the proceeds in charity.
As for when there is no specific agreed-upon period between them, it is not permissible for him to sell them after one or two months. Rather, he does not sell them or dispose of them in any way until he has lost hope of their owner returning. Once he has lost hope, he is free to do so, because it is not possible for him to keep his space occupied with these clothes or these furnishings indefinitely.
Look, may Allah bless you, if there is a specific agreed-upon period between them, then once that period ends, he is free to give them in charity, sell them, or give the proceeds in charity.
As for when there is no specific agreed-upon period between them, it is not permissible for him to sell them after one or two months. Rather, he does not sell them or dispose of them in any way until he has lost hope of their owner returning. Once he has lost hope, he is free to do so, because it is not possible for him to keep his space occupied with these clothes or these furnishings indefinitely.