On some occasions, I take some money from my father’s clothing without his knowledge, knowing that if I told him, he would not say anything. Is there a sin on me for that, and what about the money I previously took without his knowledge?

The questioner : On some occasions, I take some money from my father’s clothing without his knowledge, knowing that if I told him, he would not say anything. Is there a sin on me for that, and what about the money I previously took without his knowledge?

The Shaykh : It is not permissible for a person to take from his father’s money without his knowledge, except if he is poor and his father refuses to provide the obligatory maintenance for him; in that case, he may take from him without his knowledge. What appears to me from this question is that this son is not in need, so it is not permissible for him to take anything from his father’s money. He must seek his father’s permission, meaning he should ask him to permit it. If he knows from his father that he is a kind man and that if he told him, he would not be displeased, let him tell him, for there is no harm in that for him. However, if he fears harm from his father if he learns that he had taken from him before, then he can get rid of that by putting the coins he took back in the place he took them from, such as putting them in his father’s pocket in his bag of coins or the like.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.