Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (10/305)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

And to its owner—that is, if he says, “I returned it to you.”

His statement, “or to someone else,” means: to someone other than its owner.

His statement, “with his permission,” means with the permission of its owner. But if he claims that he returned it to someone else and says, “I returned it, but I did not seek your permission,” then he is liable, because the owner did not appoint him to hand it over to that person. If, however, he says, “I gave it to him with your permission; you were the one who told me: ‘So-and-so, give the deposit in your possession to So-and-so,’” and its owner denies having given permission, saying, “I did not give you permission,” then it is said: the man is your trustee, and he is a doer of good. Allah Most High has said, “There is no blame upon the doers of good.” [al-Tawbah: 91] He could not have claimed that you gave him permission when you had not done so, for forgetfulness may affect anyone, including the owner of the deposited property.

Accordingly, there are three cases:

The first: if he claims that he returned it to its owner, his statement is accepted.

The second: if he claims that he returned it to someone else without the owner’s permission, then he is liable.

The third: if he claims that he returned it to someone other than its owner with the owner’s permission, then he is not liable, because he is a trustee. Allah Most High has said, “There is no blame upon the doers of good.” [al-Tawbah: 91]

His statement, “its destruction,” is the second issue: that is, the depositary’s statement concerning its destruction is accepted. Thus, if he says to its owner, “The deposited property was destroyed,” while its owner says, “It was not destroyed,” then the depositary’s statement is accepted.

However, if he claims that it was destroyed by an evident event, such as a fire—for instance, he says, “The shop burned down while it was in the shop”—then his statement is not accepted unless he establishes that the shop did indeed burn down, because this is an evident matter that is not hidden from anyone. Thus, if he establishes that it

وقوله: «إلى ربها» بأن يقول: رددتها عليك. وقوله: «أو غيره» أي: إلى غير ربها. وقوله: «بإذنه» أي بإذن ربها، أما إذا ادعى ردها إلى غيره، وقال: إني رددتها لكنني لم استأذنك، فهو ضامن؛ لأنه لم يوكله في دفعها إليه، فإذا قال: دفعتها إليه بإذنك، أنت الذي قلت لي: يا فلان أعط الوديعة التي عندك لفلان، فأنكر صاحبها الإذن، وقال: إني لم آذن لك، فهنا يقال: إن الرجل أمين عندك، وهو محسن، وقد قال الله تعالى: ﴿مَا عَلَى الْمُحْسِنِينَ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ﴾ [التوبة: ٩١] ولا يمكن أن يدعي أنك أذنت له وأنت لم تأذن، والنسيان وارد على كل أحد، ومنه صاحب الوديعة. وعليه فتكون الحالات ثلاثة: الأولى: إذا ادعى ردها إلى ربها قُبِل. الثانية: إذا ادعى ردها إلى غيره بغير إذنه فهو ضامن. الثالثة: إذا ادعى ردها إلى غير صاحبها بإذنه فهو غير ضامن، لأنه أمين، وقد قال الله تعالى: ﴿مَا عَلَى الْمُحْسِنِينَ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ﴾ [التوبة: ٩١]. وقوله: «وتلفِهَا» هذه هي المسألة الثانية: أي: يقبل قول المودَع في تلفها، فإذا قال لصاحبها: الوديعة تلفت، فقال صاحبها: لم تتلف، فالقول قول المودَع. لكن لو ادعى التلف بأمر ظاهر كالحريق، بأن قال: احترق الدكان وهي في الدكان، فهنا لا يقبل قوله إلا إذا أثبت أن الدكان قد احترق؛ لأن هذا أمر ظاهر لا يخفى على أحد، فإذا أثبت أنه