The obligation of one who repents from consuming the wealth of people

A message was received by the program from one of the listening brothers from the Jizan region, who indicated his name with four letters: (M. M. H. T.). Our brother tells his story when he was the custodian of the fund, and says: that he used to keep some money with him, which amounted to such and such, and he specifies the amount, O Shaykh, and now he has some concern in his heart regarding that money and seeks guidance?
Answer: If it is possible to return these moneys to the public treasury, return them to the public treasury through the authority that you see will convey them to the public treasury without there being any danger to you in doing so. If conveying them to the public treasury is not feasible or there is danger to you in it, then you give them in charity and spend them in the causes of righteousness, such as: building schools, and restrooms, such as helping those who want to marry from among the poor, such as paying off the debts of the poor, needy debtors, and the like of that from the causes of righteousness, and that is sufficient, along with repentance and regret, repentance to Allah sincerely, with regret, and with the resolve not to return to such a thing, and along with that you spend them in the causes of righteousness, repentance to Allah and returning to the truth and regret for what has passed from you, and that is sufficient. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. Our brother complains about his condition at a certain age, O Shaykh, and seeks guidance?
The Shaykh: If the intention is that he is in a state of old age in terms of age and weakness in the body, then he must do what he is able of good, and he has the glad tidings of good, [Al-Taghabun:16], he does what he is able of obedience to Allah, and of the remembrance of Allah, and reading the Qur'an.. and other than this from the causes of good, and his inability regarding what is beyond that does not harm him, for Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, does not burden a soul except with what it can bear, and He says : [Al-Taghabun:16] and He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , so if inability and old age and weakness prevent him from some good deeds, Allah writes for him the reward of that if he was doing them in a state of strength and vitality, Allah writes for him the reward of that, and it is established in the two Sahihs from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said regarding the expedition of Tabuk: , so that indicates that if a person has good deeds such as fasting on Mondays and Thursdays, such as charities, such as visiting the sick, prayer in congregation, and then he is prevented by illness or old age from being able to do those deeds because of his old age or his illness, then Allah writes for him those deeds and runs for him their reward even if he does not do them because of a valid legal excuse. Yes.
The presenter: This is one aspect of the intention, if there is another aspect, O Shaykh, if he has passed through a certain life where he may have committed some of the sins?
The Shaykh: As for if the intention is that he has passed through slips and mistakes in his youth or in the state of his work in the job or in other than that from the times, the cure for that is repentance, the human being is a place for sins, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: so the obligatory thing at that time is repentance to Allah and regret and abandoning the sins out of magnification of Allah and desire for what is with Him, Glorified and Exalted is He, and fear of His punishment and the sincere resolve not to return to them, and when this occurs, Allah erases them from him , the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to A'ishah: , and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
And the human being is a place for slips and a place for mistakes, but from the mercy of Allah is that He made the door of repentance open before the sun rises from the west, and before the soul is drawn to the throat, so he is in a state of ease, he must hasten with repentance which includes three matters:
Abandoning the evil deed.
And regret for what has passed of it.
And the sincere resolve not to return to it.
So when these conditions are completed and he is sincere in them, Allah erases from him the past sins and covers them for him, and if with his repentance there is a righteous deed, if he follows the repentance with a righteous deed, Allah replaces them for him with good deeds as mentioned in some of the past questions, and it is not befitting for the sensible person to despair of the mercy of Allah or to lose hope, but the obligatory thing is that he should have a good opinion of Allah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:: I am with the opinion of My servant of Me, so Allah is with your opinion of Him, so you must have a good opinion of Allah along with sincere repentance and righteous deeds.
As for if there are rights of the people, then fulfill them to them, and repentance is not complete except by fulfilling them to them, such as theft, betrayal, and killing without right, or striking without right or the like of that, you fulfill their right to them according to your ability, if you are able to fulfill the rights, fulfill them, if you are not able, then you fulfill what you are able and you inform them of the truth, if it is money so that they may excuse you and give you time, or you pay the money to them by other means if you do not see informing them, you send to them their rights by ways that they do not know that it is from you but you are certain of its arrival to them and that it is a right upon the one who gives it to them to give it to them through one who conveys it to them, and if it is retaliation, you must make yourself available so that retaliation is carried out upon you, if you have killed someone without right so that they may take retaliation from you or allow the blood money or forgive the whole, and if it is striking without right, you seek forgiveness from the one you struck or satisfy him with something so that he is satisfied, so the rights of the people are great and serious, it is necessary to give them their rights or seek their forgiveness from them before you die, Allah is the helper. Yes.
The presenter: Allah is the helper, let us suppose that those mistakes were financial and he benefited from them greatly, but now he has become to feel regret?
The Shaykh: As mentioned before, he must return the money that he took, and as for his benefiting from them, that does not harm him with repentance, but he returns the money that he took from the fund or from betrayal or from theft, he returns the actual money, and if he returns with it half of the profit if he knows in the benefits, this is the saying of some of the scholars if he worked with the moneys that he took without right and benefited from them, then he returns the half to the one it belongs to, and that is narrated from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) : .
So the result is that if he returns this half, that is good, if he returns the half that he knows came to him as profit, as if the theft or betrayal was one hundred thousand riyals and he benefited from it another one hundred thousand, he returns fifty thousand from the perspective of clearing the conscience, as if it was a profit-sharing partnership, as if he worked in it as a profit-sharing partnership.
And others from the scholars said: repentance is sufficient and he does not return anything, and others said: he returns the whole profit and does not benefit from it anything, but he returns it all, and this is a known saying of some of the scholars, and if he returns half of the profit, this is a middle saying.
The basic principle is that he is only liable for what he took; this is the basic principle, based on the saying of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) : [al-Baqarah:275]. This indicates that what has passed for him, and what belongs to him, is his effort and what he has gained from it. As for the principal amount of the money, he must return it to its owners, just as if he had borrowed it and disposed of it. Yes.
The presenter: Which one do you lean towards, O Your Eminence?
The Shaykh: The half is better, returning the half is more cautious, returning the half is more cautious as 'Umar did, Yes. Meaning: half of the profit, Yes.
The presenter: May Allah bless you, when the soul that commands evil inclines to this, how does the person direct himself, or how do you direct him if you please, Shaykh Abdul Aziz?
The Shaykh: It is necessary to remember the standing before Allah, and that he is responsible for what his hand committed and what he encumbered of the rights of the people, ....... he strives to get rid of it, he remembers his station before Allah, Allah says: [Ar-Rahman:46], and He, Glorified and Exalted is He, says: So indeed, Paradise is the refuge [An-Nazi'at:40-41], so if his soul adorns for him something of falsehood and persisting in it, then he treats it by remembering this station, he strives to get rid of what his soul inclined to of falsehood by any way he knows from the ways of the Shari'ah that free him from this affliction that he fell into, if it is a sin, he repents to Allah from it, and if it is money, he returns it to its owners, and if it is retaliation, he makes its owners able to take their right, and so on. Yes.