Will my alms and expenditures be accepted before returning rights to their owners? What is the way to settle the many rights that are difficult to recall or estimate? How can sufficient funds be collected for that in the absence of income? What is the adopted standard for paying the value of stolen items whose financial value has differed between the time of the theft and the present time? What are the practical ways to restore rights to their owners without embarrassment?

Sincere repentance from theft is obligatory, and repentance is not complete except by returning the stolen money to its owners. The thief must exert effort in returning the stolen goods, and can use indirect speech (ma'arid) and dissimulation (tawriya), and is not obligated to confess to the theft. If he is unable to identify the owners after a serious search, he should give the stolen goods or their value in charity. As for cash, it remains obligatory upon him as is, and he should give it in charity, with the option for the owners, if found, to choose between receiving the equivalent, the value, or accepting it as charity. He can also give it in charity to displaced people. If the amount is unknown, he should strive to return what he believes most likely clears his conscience. Voluntary charity is not permissible for someone who owes a debt unless he believes it is highly probable that the debt will be paid from another source. The thief should increase his good deeds, for the rightful owners may demand them on the Day of Resurrection. If he is poor, the rights remain a debt upon him until he is able to fulfill them.