How to Repent and Restore People's Rights After Taking Their Money or Cheating Them in Childhood

Question

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

I seek your advice concerning something that has troubled me for a long time.

When I was young, before I reached the age at which I could properly understand the seriousness and consequences of my actions, I wronged people in several ways. I was once employed as a shop assistant, and during that period, I sometimes took money belonging to my employer without his knowledge.

Similarly, when I worked at a fuel station, I sometimes cheated customers by giving them less fuel than they had paid for so that I could keep the difference. I committed several acts of this nature during that period.

Recently, however, I read one of your religious answers concerning a woman who had died while owing people money. That answer greatly disturbed me. I began thinking about the people I had wronged and how I could restore their rights, but I do not know where to find them.

I have even considered selling my house and moving into rented accommodation so that I can distribute the money among those I wronged. However, I do not know exactly how much money I took or how much I cheated people out of.

Please, Sheikh, advise me on what I should do. I am extremely distressed. Whenever I remember what I did, I feel as though death is approaching and that I may leave this world carrying the burden of these people's rights. I fear meeting my Lord with these sins.

I sincerely want to correct my past mistakes, restore the rights of those I wronged, and attain peace in this life and the Hereafter.

May Allah reward you abundantly.

Answer

Wa Alaikumus Salam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

First, calm yourself and do not despair of Allah's mercy. Your regret, recognition of your wrongdoing, and desire to restore people's rights are important steps towards sincere repentance.

However, you must understand that repentance should lead you towards practical correction, not hopelessness, excessive anxiety, or the destruction of your present life.

Allah, the Most High, says:

Arabic:

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

English translation:

“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.’”

— Qur'an 39:53

This verse reminds us that no matter how serious a person's past mistakes may be, they should never lose hope in Allah's forgiveness.

1. Do Not Rush into Selling Your House

You mentioned that you are considering selling your house and moving into rented accommodation to repay the people you wronged.

My advice is that you should not rush into such a decision.

Islam requires a person to restore the rights of others, but this does not mean that you should unnecessarily destroy your present financial stability or expose yourself and your family to hardship.

Your house may be an essential asset for your family's shelter and security. You should first explore reasonable ways of identifying, estimating, and repaying the outstanding amounts.

Repentance is not achieved by unnecessarily impoverishing yourself. What matters is that you make a sincere and reasonable effort to restore the rights of those you wronged.

2. How Should You Calculate the Money You Took?

Since you cannot remember the exact amounts, you should make a careful and honest estimate.

Begin by considering:

• Approximately how long you worked as a shop assistant.
• How frequently you took money from your employer.
• The approximate amounts you took on different occasions.
• How long you worked at the fuel station.
• How frequently you supplied customers with less fuel than they had paid for.
• The approximate financial value of the difference.

Write down your estimates separately for each type of wrongdoing.

Where you cannot establish the exact amount, use your best honest judgement and adopt an estimate that gives you reasonable confidence that you have repaid what you owe. Do not deliberately underestimate the amount merely to make repayment easier, but neither should you allow endless uncertainty to make repayment impossible.

For example, if after careful consideration you estimate that the money taken from your employer was approximately ₦50,000, and the amount involved in cheating customers was approximately ₦100,000, you can use those figures as a starting point for a repayment plan.

These figures are only illustrations; you must calculate your own circumstances.

3. What If You Cannot Find the People You Cheated?

This is particularly relevant to the customers you cheated at the fuel station.

You may not remember their names, addresses, or identities. Some may have moved away, while others may no longer be alive.

The first step is to make reasonable efforts to identify and locate those whose rights you violated.

If you can identify a person, you should return their money or compensate them. You do not necessarily have to reveal every detail of what happened if you can restore their rights without causing additional harm.

However, if you genuinely cannot identify or locate the people concerned after reasonable efforts, Islamic scholars discuss giving the equivalent amount in charity on behalf of the rightful owners.

You may give it to poor and needy people, intending the reward to go to those whose money you took.

This is an important matter, and you should consult a qualified scholar about your particular circumstances, especially where the amount is substantial or the rightful owners may later be identified.

If you subsequently discover the identity of an owner, you should inform them and offer to restore their money. If they accept the charity as compensation, that may settle the matter; if they do not accept it, you should pay them what they are entitled to.

Important: Giving charity on behalf of an unidentified owner should not be treated as an automatic guarantee that the debt has been discharged in every circumstance. The rights of the original owners must still be respected.

4. What About the Money You Took from Your Former Employer?

If your former employer is still alive and you can locate him, you should make reasonable efforts to return the money.

If you feel embarrassed about disclosing what happened, you may arrange to repay him discreetly.

For example, you could:

• Transfer the money to his bank account.
• Send it through a trustworthy intermediary.
• Give it to someone who can deliver it to him without necessarily disclosing your identity.

The important thing is that the money reaches its rightful owner.

If your former employer has died, the money is generally a right belonging to his estate and heirs. You should therefore make reasonable efforts to identify and compensate the appropriate beneficiaries. If they cannot be identified or located, seek guidance from a qualified scholar on the appropriate way to discharge the obligation.

5. What If You Cannot Repay Everything at Once?

You do not have to pay everything immediately if you genuinely lack the financial means.

You can establish a reasonable repayment plan and make regular payments according to your ability.

For example, you might decide to set aside ₦5,000 or ₦10,000 every month until you have completed the estimated amount.

The figures should depend on your financial circumstances.

You should also document the outstanding amount, what you have already repaid, and what remains.

It may be useful to make a written record of the obligation and include instructions in your will so that, if you die before completing repayment, the outstanding debt can be settled from your estate before its distribution to your heirs, subject to Islamic inheritance rules.

This is a practical precaution, not a substitute for making repayments while you are alive and able to do so.

6. Does Allah Forgive Someone Who Has Violated the Rights of Others?

This is an important issue.

Islam distinguishes between sins involving a person's obligations towards Allah and violations of the rights of other people.

When a person commits a sin involving the rights of Allah, sincere repentance includes regret, stopping the sin, and resolving not to return to it.

When the sin involves another person's property or rights, the person must also make an effort to restore those rights or obtain the rightful owner's forgiveness.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) warned about the consequences of violating people's rights.

He asked his Companions:

“Do you know who the bankrupt person is?”

They replied that the bankrupt person among them was someone without money or possessions.

The Prophet then explained that the truly bankrupt person would come on the Day of Resurrection with prayers, fasting, and charity, but would also have insulted some people, slandered others, consumed the wealth of others, shed blood, and beaten others. His good deeds would be given to those he had wronged. If his good deeds were exhausted before their rights were fully settled, their sins would be transferred to him, and he would then be cast into the Fire.

— Sahih Muslim

This hadith demonstrates the seriousness of violating people's rights and the importance of restoring them before the Day of Judgement.

However, it should encourage you to take corrective action rather than fall into despair.

7. Does the Fact That You Were Young at the Time Change the Ruling?

You mentioned that some of these actions happened when you were very young, before you could properly understand the seriousness of what you were doing.

This detail is important.

Islamic accountability depends on whether a person had reached the age of religious responsibility and possessed the necessary understanding. A child who has not reached puberty is not accountable for sins in the same way as an adult.

Nevertheless, the financial rights of other people are a separate matter. Money taken from someone does not automatically become lawful simply because the person who took it was a child.

The obligation to restore property may remain even where the child was not personally sinful in the religious sense.

Therefore, you should explain your age at the time, your level of understanding, and the circumstances to a qualified scholar. This will help determine the precise ruling concerning your responsibility for each incident.

8. What Should You Do About Your Anxiety and Fear?

You have described considerable emotional distress, including feeling as though death is approaching whenever you remember your past actions.

Please understand that regret is beneficial when it leads to repentance and correction, but it becomes harmful when it develops into hopelessness or overwhelming fear.

Do not allow Satan to turn your desire to repent into despair of Allah's mercy.

Take practical steps, one at a time:

1. Write down the incidents you remember.
2. Estimate the financial amounts honestly.
3. Identify the people you can still locate.
4. Begin repaying those whose identities are known.
5. Seek qualified Islamic guidance about amounts owed to unidentified people.
6. Make a realistic repayment plan.
7. Continue seeking Allah's forgiveness and performing righteous deeds.

If the anxiety continues to overwhelm you, affects your sleep or daily functioning, or makes you feel that you might harm yourself, please speak immediately with someone you trust and seek professional mental-health support. Do not remain alone with such distress.

Conclusion

My advice is that you should not despair of Allah's mercy or rush into selling your house.

Your responsibility is to make a sincere and reasonable effort to restore the rights of those you wronged. Carefully estimate the amounts, repay identifiable owners, and seek qualified scholarly guidance about money belonging to people you cannot locate. Where appropriate, charity on behalf of unidentified owners may be considered, while recognising that the original owners' rights must still be respected if they later become known.

Also, explain the circumstances of your childhood actions to a qualified scholar, because your age and level of understanding at the time may affect your personal religious accountability, even though financial rights may remain.

Above all, remember that the purpose of repentance is to return to Allah, correct wrongdoing, and live a better life. Do not let regret destroy your hope or prevent you from taking the very steps that can help you make things right.

May Allah accept your repentance, enable you to restore the rights of those you wronged, forgive your shortcomings, and grant you peace in this life and the Hereafter.

Wallāhu Taʿālā Aʿlam — And Allah knows best.

Zauren Fatawoyi Bisa Alƙur’ani da Sunnah.

 Wallāhu Taʿālā Aʿlam — And Allah knows best.

Zauren Fatawoyi Bisa Alƙur’ani da Sunnah.

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