Is it permissible to take money that does not belong to me by forging documents, claiming to be its legal heir, and is it permissible to invest part or all of it with the intention of returning it if its heir appears, or to cooperate with the employee to transfer the amount and then search for its heir, knowing that refusing the offer means searching for another partner?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
A Muslim should be wary of the Muslim who seeks to seize people's money through devious means, including claiming that a person has died in a certain country, possesses money with no heir, and requesting an account number from someone whose name matches the alleged deceased. Even if the fraudster's claim were true, it is not permissible for the inquirer or the fraudster to dispose of this money, as it is the money of an heir who has not yet been identified, and the obligation is to search for the heir.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/79383
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 79383
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy