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The question

What should I do, as I stole a phone before reaching puberty and do not know its owner, who lives in another country? Should I donate its price on his behalf? If I do that, will it become mine?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

Whoever steals before puberty is not sinful, according to the : "The pen has been lifted from three: from the sleeper until he awakens, from the child until he reaches puberty, and from the insane person until he regains his sanity."

However, the lifting of sin does not negate the obligation of restitution. Therefore, you are obligated to return what you stole to its owner. If that is not possible, you should give its equivalent in charity on his behalf as a guarantee. If you later find the owner, you give him the choice between approving the charity or receiving the value of what was stolen from him.

As for owning the stolen item while paying its value, there is no harm in that.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported

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Where this answer came from
Source platform
Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
154728
Imported
Translation status
Source text, unreviewed
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