Is it permissible for the laboratory team to take accumulated olive oil samples from old tests—which are fit for human consumption—for their personal use instead of destroying them, given the existence of a bureaucratic system that hinders their return to storage?

If the oil is fit for use and harmless, it is not permissible to destroy it, even if ordered by its owner, because Islamic law prohibits wasting wealth and commands its preservation, and because destroying it is considered corruption on earth. Destroying it also contradicts showing gratitude for Allah's blessings.

Therefore, there is no impediment to benefiting from this oil, because the company’s abandonment of it, coupled with the impermissibility of destroying it, renders it akin to permissible things (mubahat) that are owned by whoever claims them first, based on the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) saying: “Whoever precedes to a permissible thing has more right to it.”