A shirt was stolen from a friend's house, but he is too shy to return it, knowing that he regrets his action. What should he do?
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The questioner : This questioner also says, O honorable Shaykh, that he stole a shirt from the house of one of his friends. He says, "But I am very shy to return it, knowing that I regret my action the most. What should I do?"
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for you to return the shirt to its owner. If it has become worn out, it is obligatory for you to return its equivalent. If it has no equivalent because its kind has been abandoned and people have left it, it is obligatory for you to return its value. However, a person faces difficulty in such a case: how does he return what he stole to its owner? If he says, "This is your property that I stole from you," he falls into a problem. Perhaps the owner will take him to the authorities, or perhaps he will claim that his property was worth more than that, or something similar. What should he do? We say the answer is: he gives the stolen item, whether it is money or coins, to someone he trusts and says, "O so-and-so, go with this to so-and-so, meaning its owner, and tell him, 'This is from a person who gave it to you for me.' That is sufficient.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If it is coins, a person can put them in an envelope and send them by post or something similar. If they reach the owner with the intention that this is the fulfillment of what is in your debt to this man, then it is sufficient. Yes.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for you to return the shirt to its owner. If it has become worn out, it is obligatory for you to return its equivalent. If it has no equivalent because its kind has been abandoned and people have left it, it is obligatory for you to return its value. However, a person faces difficulty in such a case: how does he return what he stole to its owner? If he says, "This is your property that I stole from you," he falls into a problem. Perhaps the owner will take him to the authorities, or perhaps he will claim that his property was worth more than that, or something similar. What should he do? We say the answer is: he gives the stolen item, whether it is money or coins, to someone he trusts and says, "O so-and-so, go with this to so-and-so, meaning its owner, and tell him, 'This is from a person who gave it to you for me.' That is sufficient.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If it is coins, a person can put them in an envelope and send them by post or something similar. If they reach the owner with the intention that this is the fulfillment of what is in your debt to this man, then it is sufficient. Yes.