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What should I do to restore people's rights after I ate chips belonging to someone I do not know without their permission, took fruits from different trees, and took simple items from a crowded place without paying for them, knowing that I was unaware at the time of the obligation to return them, and is it incumbent upon me to travel to return what I took?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If you take something without explicit permission, but you know that its owner would consent to or tolerate it, then there is no blame upon you. It is mentioned in Asna al-Matalib that it is permissible to eat from food when one knows the owner's consent, even without their explicit permission, citing the verse: "Nor upon yourselves to eat from your houses... or your friend's houses." However, anything taken from the market without the owners' permission, and which has value, must be returned to them by any possible means without the need for travel. If you are unable to do so, then give it as charity on their behalf.

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

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