What is the ruling regarding ill-gotten money acquired from selling hashish and alcohol, and is Zakat or Sadaqah permissible from it if its owner has repented, possesses nothing else, and fears returning to sin if he relinquishes it?

Scholars have differed on the ruling concerning money acquired through unlawful means (such as selling alcohol and hashish) after repentance, holding three views:

1. The obligation to dispose of all the money: The money should be spent on charitable projects, and the penitent should seek lawful money to spend on himself and his family. 2. The permissibility of taking from unlawful money for the penitent's sustenance while disposing of the surplus: Some scholars, such as Al-Ghazali and Al-Nawawi, believe that it is permissible for a poor penitent to take from this money what suffices for his needs and the needs of his family, and to give the rest in charity, because they are more deserving of charity. 3. No obligation to dispose of any of the unlawful money unless it is to return the exact unlawful item to its owners if they are known: Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah believes that repentance erases what came before it, and that Allah replaces the penitent's evil deeds with good ones, which means that this money becomes pardoned after repentance. Obligating the penitent to return all that he acquired or to spend it deters from repentance.

The most preponderant view is that the penitent should take from this money what suffices him and dispose of the rest.