What is the ruling on a seller in a clothing store who was entered by thieves who stole from him and went to another store, so this seller followed them and looked at the bag that

The questioner: clothing, and some Iraqis came to him, and it appears, I mean, that some of them are thieves.

The Shaykh: Thieves.

The questioner: Yes, they deceived him, I mean, in one way or another, and stole some of his goods and left for his neighbor or another store. He was passing by the side of the store and looked at the bag they were holding and found some of the merchandise he sells, which was distinctive, so he stopped them and said to them, "What is this?" and so on. So they started, I mean, to shout in such a way that they made him feel that, "By Allah, we want to call the police, we have no money, etc." So they left, claiming to call the police, and they left and did not return, leaving this bag. He said, "When I opened the bag, I found my merchandise and merchandise belonging to others, and the other merchandise is not known, I mean, it could belong to some of his neighbors, but the matter is not limited; it could be near or far, etc." He said, "It is my money, I recovered it, but it appears that a pair of shoes were taken by them in one way or another. He says, 'Now, what do I do with this money, which is not mine, and the stolen merchandise from the other stores?'"

The Shaykh: I mean, he took the whole bag?

The questioner: Yes, they left the bag.

The Shaykh: They left the bag.

The questioner: Yes, when they were exposed, and their matter was exposed, they made excuses, saying, "By Allah, we want to go get the police, we have no money, etc." So they went and did not return.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner: So he says, "Now, what do I do with this money that is not mine?" I told him, "I mean, the first answer is: look at the stores next to you." He said, "By Allah, it might be, it could belong to some of them, but some of the items could belong to other stores, and even my neighbors, this one says this is mine, this one is not mine, because there are goods, as you know, that are similar, Shaykh, like pants and shoes."

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner: So the matter seems to have difficulty, and he fears, he says, "I fear that the owner of a store will deal with this money, for example, he will take it and say, 'By Allah, since they stole a shoe from us, we will take the remaining merchandise or something like that.'"

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner: He wants, may Allah reward him with good, to seek the truth, I mean, in this issue.

The Shaykh: I mean, do I understand from your words that the questioner is an employee?

The questioner: An employee, yes, in this store.

The Shaykh: What comes to mind at first is that this type of money mentioned is not permissible for him to deal with in any way, for fear that its owner will be identified soon.

The questioner: An employee, yes, in this store.

The Shaykh: So if it is identified, it is returned to him and given to him.

The questioner : Very good.

The Shaykh: So if time passes and the matter becomes forgotten, I mean, the owners of this merchandise that does not belong to this man or the owner of the shop, at that time, he only gives it in charity.

The questioner: He gives it in charity.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner: To the poor.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner: Yes, beautiful, do you see, my Shaykh, a specific period, or is there nothing, I mean?

The Shaykh: No, no, this depends on personal conviction.

The questioner: Yes, may Allah honor you.

The Shaykh: Yes.