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How can a person who has accumulated wealth from lawful and unlawful sources, and wishes to repent from theft, purify their money and validate their repentance, especially since they cannot remember everyone they stole from? And were their prayers and supplications performed with mixed money valid and accepted?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

For the validity of repentance concerning the rights of individuals, it is required to return usurped properties or seek their owner's forgiveness. If the owner of the stolen money or their heirs cannot be identified, the money should be given as charity on their behalf. If the owner later appears, they are given the choice to either approve the charity or take their money back. If the value of the stolen money is unknown, one should return what is believed to clear their conscience. If a long time has passed and investigation becomes difficult, half of the money in their possession should be given away. What cannot be returned now is considered a debt owed by them and must be recorded in a will. If a sincere repentant person intends to return the money but is overtaken by death, it is hoped that Allah will forgive them. If a person steals someone else's money and finds it difficult to inform them, they should return the money by any possible means without informing them. Ablution (Wudu') and ritual bathing (Ghusl) with usurped water or unlawfully acquired money are valid, though the sin of usurpation or theft remains. Lawful earnings are among the reasons for the acceptance of supplications, while illicit earnings are among the reasons for their rejection. However, the bounty of Allah is vast.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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