Fatwa ID: 07364

 

 

Answered by: Maulana Ubaidur Rahman

 

Question:

 

If someone creates a business but a condition of publishing their business on a company house is that they list their address, but that house has been bought with a little bit of stolen money that the person had control over.

 

 

If they followed the opinion that profit from a business that used stolen money as capital belongs to the person who the money was stolen from, Do you think they have to return the profits back to the person who the money was stolen from and are they sinful for entering this business because they live in that house and it’s not used with the intention of business.

 

 

This also applies to entering a business partnership with someone whose house was bought with minimal stolen money that his partnership helped contribute to.

 

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

 

Answer:

 

The Messenger Of Allah (ﷺ) mentions in a hadeeth from ‘Aishah (RA):

 

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ ‏ “‏ إِنَّ أَطْيَبَ مَا أَكَلَ الرَّجُلُ مِنْ كَسْبِهِ وَإِنَّ وَلَدَهُ مِنْ كَسْبِهِ²

 

‘The best (most pure) food a man consumes is that which he has earned himself, and his child (and his child’s wealth) is part of his earnings.”

 

Whichever item was stolen, the items need to be returned back to the person that they were stolen from in its original condition.

 

If this is not possible, then the equivalent of that price in value should be given. It is important to remember that the person in charge had control over the money overall – the stolen and pure money.

 

Making use of stolen items for living purposes or business purposes does not make a difference as the root action or outcome is as a result of theft.

 

Entering a partnership with someone who’s house was purchased using stolen money depends on the type of partnership. If the money has been pooled together where there is mixture of wealth and it is unable to differentiate between which wealth is pure and which is impure then both sources of wealth become impure as a cause of them being mixed together.

 

If the partnership is the kind where one partner pools the resources and the other partner does the administration side of things then this would a different kind of partnership where the roles and contribution to the partnership is different, hence the allocation of responsibility will be different.

 

Any profits which have been accumulated from stolen money would have to be returned to their rightful owners in full. The stolen items must be given back in full if it still exists, or else that which is equivalent.

 

 

³Bahr ar Raiq, Page 54, Volume 5, Maktabatus Shaamila.

 

⁴Durrul Mukhtarr Sharh Tanwweer il Absaar, Page 321, Maktabatus Shaamila.

 

⁵ Kitaab Fatwa Yasaluwnak, Page 169, Volume 7, Maktabatus Shaamila.

 

 

 

 

Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.

Written by Maulana Ubaidur Rahman.

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah.

Darul Ifta Birmingham.