Question:
There is someone who stole AirPods from a masjid 3 years ago when they were ignorant and not aware of Islamic rights of others. That person does not know who the owner is, as the AirPods ended up being given to another person (not sold to them the person just asked and the taker gave it to them) and the person who stole the AirPods does not talk to the person who they gave them to because of family distance etc and they are not sure if this person has the AirPods anymore.
They know the value of the AirPods and want to return the value in money to the owner, however the owner is not known, and the thief is moving to a different country in about a month.
What should the thief do in order to fulfill huquq al insaan, such as how should they go about the process of finding the person, is it enough for them to make posters with a contact info stating if you lost AirPods at this masjid contact this and hanging them in the masjid hallways, and asking people in the community who have big social media followings to post about it, and asking others to post in community group chats?
Should the person still look for one year, and if they are moving, should this time be shortened or should they instead put a trusted persons number on the posters for a year?
After taking all these steps can the person pay money to a charity and will this make them free of the sin and its consequences, or will the person still have a debt that lasts and do they need to keep searching for that person forever or maintain contact with that city and people to find the person forever?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
In this situation when finding the owner is improbable, your responsibility will be fulfilled by donating the cash value of those Air Pods in sadaqah with the intention of sending the reward to the owner. You are only required to search for the owner when there is a realistic chance of finding the owner, which does not apply here.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Owais Fasih Siddiqui
Edmonton, Canada
Checked and Approved by:
Muftī Yusub ibn Yaqub
Mufti Faisal bin Abdul Hamīd al-Mahmudi (اشفيه الله)
Darul Iftaa Canada
fatwa.ca
«حاشية ابن عابدين = رد المحتار – ط الحلبي» (4/ 283):
«(عَلَيْهِ دُيُونٌ وَمَظَالِمُ جَهِلَ أَرْبَابَهَا وَأَيِسَ) مَنْ عَلَيْهِ ذَلِكَ (مِنْ مَعْرِفَتِهِمْ فَعَلَيْهِ التَّصَدُّقُ بِقَدْرِهَا مِنْ مَالِهِ وَإِنْ اسْتَغْرَقَتْ جَمِيعَ مَالِهِ) هَذَا مَذْهَبُ أَصْحَابِنَا لَا تَعْلَمُ بَيْنَهُمْ خِلَافًا كَمَنْ فِي يَدِهِ عُرُوضٌ لَا يَعْلَمُ مُسْتَحِقِّيهَا اعْتِبَارًا لِلدُّيُونِ بِالْأَعْيَانِ (وَ) مَتَى فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ (سَقَطَ عَنْهُ الْمُطَالَبَةُ) مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الدُّيُونِ (فِي الْمُعَقِّبِيِّ) مُجْتَبَى.»
[رد المحتار]
مَطْلَبٌ فِيمَنْ عَلَيْهِ دُيُونٌ وَمَظَالِمُ جَهِلَ أَرْبَابَهَا (قَوْلُهُ: كَمَنْ فِي يَدِهِ عُرُوضٌ لَا يَعْلَمُ مُسْتَحَقِّيهَا) يَشْمَلُ مَا إذَا كَانَتْ لُقَطَةً عَلِمَ حُكْمَهَا، وَإِنْ كَانَتْ غَيْرَهَا فَالظَّاهِرُ وُجُوبُ التَّصَدُّقِ بِأَعْيَانِهَا أَيْضًا (قَوْلُهُ: سَقَطَ عَنْهُ الْمُطَالَبَةُ إلَخْ) كَأَنَّهُ وَاَللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَعْلَمُ؛ لِأَنَّهُ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْمَالِ الضَّائِعِ وَالْفُقَرَاءُ مَصْرِفُهُ عِنْدَ جَهْلِ أَرْبَابِهِ، وَبِالتَّوْبَةِ يَسْقُطُ إثْمُ الْإِقْدَامِ عَلَى الظُّلْمِ ط
الفتاوى الهندية ج 5 ص191 دار الكتب العلمية
مَطْلَبٌ فِيمَنْ عَلَيْهِ دُيُونٌ وَمَظَالِمُ جَهِلَ أَرْبَابَهَا (قَوْلُهُ: كَمَنْ فِي يَدِهِ عُرُوضٌ لَا يَعْلَمُ مُسْتَحَقِّيهَا) يَشْمَلُ مَا إذَا كَانَتْ لُقَطَةً عَلِمَ حُكْمَهَا، وَإِنْ كَانَتْ غَيْرَهَاإذا ندم الغاصب على ما صنع ولم يظفر بالمالك قال مشايخنا : أمسك المغصوب إلى أن يرجو مجيء صاحبه فإذا انقطع رجاؤه بمجيء صاحبه تصدق به إن شاء والأحسن أن يرفع ذلك إلى الإمام لأن للإمام تدبيراً ورأياً فالأحسن أن لا يقطع عليه رأيه
امداد الأحكام ج 3 ص660
الجواب
اپنے ساتھیوں میں سے جن کا نام اور پتہ معلوم ہو ، ان سے بذریعہ خط وغیرہ کے ان واقعات سے معافی چاہ لیں، اور جن کے نام یاد نہ ہوں، کے سے معافی چاہ لیں ، اور جن کے نام وغیرہ یاد نہ ہوں، ان کے حقوق کا گمان غالب سے اندازہ لگا کر رقم خیرات کر دیں، ان کی نیت سے ان کی طرف سے۔ واللہ اعلم