giving anything in return, and I did not subsequently discover its owner. Yet I know of no owner of this property other than this man, and I have taken it in settlement of what is owed to me. How, then, could this be unlawful for me? However, if that man is known to have unlawfully acquired property among his possessions, dealings with him are avoided as a matter of religious caution. If most of his property is unlawfully acquired, scholars disagree over dealing with him. As for a Muslim against whom nothing adverse is known, there is no reason at all to regard dealings with him as doubtful. Anyone who avoids dealing with him out of religious caution has introduced into the religion an innovation for which Allah has granted no authority.

This also clarifies the ruling concerning all other property. Someone making this mistake says:

“The meat and milk that people consume may originally have been plundered or seized unlawfully.”

The answer is:

What is unknown is treated as nonexistent. If we do not know of it, then, as far as we are concerned, it is as though it never happened. This is because Allah has forbidden invalid transactions only because of the injustice they involve. Allah Most High says in His mighty Book:

“We certainly sent Our messengers with clear proofs and sent down with them the Scripture and the balance so that people might uphold justice. And We sent down iron, with its great might and benefits for people, so that Allah may know who supports Him and His messengers without seeing Him. Indeed, Allah is All-Powerful, Almighty.”

Forcible seizure in all its forms, theft, and betrayal of trust are all acts of injustice. That being so, consider this wronged person whose property was taken without right through a sale or as wages: it was taken from him without the purchaser knowing this, and is then transferred from the purchaser