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What is the ruling on money acquired from trading stolen goods, and is it permissible to return them to their owners through other means, given the impossibility of returning them directly due to special circumstances, and what should I do seeking Allah's pleasure?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a thief repents from theft, he must return the stolen item to its owner. If the item is still in existence, he must return the item itself. Otherwise, he must return an equivalent item or its value. He is not obligated to inform the victim of the truth of the matter; rather, it suffices to return it by any means, such as saying, "This is yours from someone who wronged you," without specifying who. As for the profits generated from the stolen item, there is a difference of opinion among scholars regarding the obligation to return them. The more cautious approach is to return them to avoid dispute.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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