What is the ruling on one who steals people's money and then is unable to return it due to poverty, and is his repentance accepted by Allah, and is there a way for him to be saved from punishment on the Day of Judgment?
Repaying rights to their owners or their heirs is a condition for repentance. If the repentant person is poor, he must seek their forgiveness. If they forgive him, it is as if he has returned the right. But if they do not forgive him, he is considered indebted, and it is permissible for him to take from to repay the debt, while seeking forgiveness and praying for them. However, if he is able to repay but does not know the owners of the rights or their whereabouts, he must give the amount in charity on their behalf. Therefore, whenever he is able to return the right through any lawful means, it becomes obligatory upon him to do so.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/32949
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 32949
- 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