its rightful owner and obtain his forgiveness, for you have wronged him and violated his rights. Two things, therefore, are indispensable: returning the money and seeking pardon—whatever it may cost you—if you are able to locate him. If you cannot find him because he has died, then hand the money over to his heirs.

If both of those options prove impossible—you cannot locate him, you can find no heirs, and you know absolutely nothing about him despite exerting every effort and exhausting all avenues of search—then give the money away in charity, intending that it belongs to its owner and that the reward go to him. In this way you free yourself of the liability. Allah knows best.

Question: In the case of giving it in charity, may it be given to his sister’s husband?

Answer: Yes. Give it to anyone in need, whether that is his sister’s husband or someone else.

Question: But if informing the person from whom it was stolen—or the one from whom it was taken—would cause a problem, is he still required to tell him?

Answer: If informing him would lead to a greater harm, then do not tell him, but make sure the money reaches him by whatever means are possible.

***

Question: A man married a woman and paid her mahr with money he had gathered through unlawful means, and she has now borne him children. What is the ruling on this marriage and on the offspring?

Answer: A Muslim must confine his earning to that which Allah has made lawful—permissible income that helps him obey Allah and attend to his worldly and otherworldly interests. Lawful earnings are blessed, and their effects are praiseworthy