The ruling on stolen money when its owner is unknown
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
From 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Baz, to the honorable brother, the Director of the Department of Religious Affairs at the National Guard camps in Khashm al-'Aan, may Allah keep him safe.
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
I refer to your letter number 8, dated 1/3/1407 AH, accompanied by the inquiry submitted by one of the National Guard personnel, regarding the kid goat he took after its mother gave birth, and which he and his mother hid from its owner who came asking about it, etc.
Answer:
I inform you that the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' has studied the question and concluded that it is obligatory for the aforementioned person and his mother to repent to Allah, the Exalted, for what they did, and then to give charity with the goats or their value if the owner of the nanny goat and his heirs are not known. They may take the amount of their maintenance for the nanny goat and its offspring, according to investigation and independent legal reasoning. May Allah guide everyone to what pleases Him.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The General President
To the Departments of Scientific Research, Ifta, Da'wah, and Guidance
From 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Baz, to the honorable brother, the Director of the Department of Religious Affairs at the National Guard camps in Khashm al-'Aan, may Allah keep him safe.
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
I refer to your letter number 8, dated 1/3/1407 AH, accompanied by the inquiry submitted by one of the National Guard personnel, regarding the kid goat he took after its mother gave birth, and which he and his mother hid from its owner who came asking about it, etc.
Answer:
I inform you that the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' has studied the question and concluded that it is obligatory for the aforementioned person and his mother to repent to Allah, the Exalted, for what they did, and then to give charity with the goats or their value if the owner of the nanny goat and his heirs are not known. They may take the amount of their maintenance for the nanny goat and its offspring, according to investigation and independent legal reasoning. May Allah guide everyone to what pleases Him.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The General President
To the Departments of Scientific Research, Ifta, Da'wah, and Guidance
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.