Returning stolen money when profits have been made from it
Question: 23
I swindled some money from some orphans. Then I invested it in a trade
and it proved to be very profitable so that it came back to me manifold.
But fear of Allah has overtaken me and I want to repent. How do I do it?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.
The scholars have expressed different opinions. The moderate and most just opinion is
that you return the entire original sum to the orphans plus half of the profits, as if you
and they had been partners with their capital and your labor, hence the division.
This ruling has come from Imam AHED. It is also the opinion of Ibn Taymiyya which
his pupil Imam Ibn ul-Qayyim prefers. This also applies to the situation in which you
have rustled a cattle which gives birth to calves. The cattle must be returned and the
calves must be split. If the original cattle dies then its price plus half of its calves must
be returned.
Source:
Excerpts from the book "I would like to repent BUT..."
Was this answer helpful?