Will Allah Forgive Me If I Don’t Pay Back The Stolen Money?


Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

I stole money from my father in the past and deeply regret it. I fear his reaction if I confess and currently cannot repay him as I do not earn. Will Allah forgive me if I die before repaying him, and how can I seek forgiveness for this sin?

Answer

Thank you for your question. It is obligatory for you to repent and pay him back when you are able, though telling him is not necessary. Consider selling something you own or doing some odd jobs to gain enough money to pay him back, even if incremental.

Forgiveness

I cannot tell you that Allah will forgive you, but several encouraging verses in the Quran and Hadith show Allah’s mercy.

Allah Most High has told us in the Quran, “As for those who repent, mend their ways, and let the truth be known, they are the ones to whom I will turn ˹in forgiveness˺, for I am the Accepter of Repentance, Most Merciful. [Quran, 2:160]

And He has told us in the Quran, “Whoever commits evil or wrongs themselves then seeks Allah’s forgiveness will certainly find Allah All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. [Quran, 4:110]

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) told us, “Allah, Blessed is He and Most High, said: ‘O son of Adam! Verily as long as you called upon Me and hoped in Me, I forgave you, despite whatever may have occurred from you, and I did not mind. O son of Adam! Were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky, then you sought forgiveness from Me, I would forgive you, and I would not mind. O son of Adam! If you came to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth, and then you met Me not associating anything with Me, I would come to you with forgiveness nearly as great as it.’” [Tirmidhi]

Abdallah bin Mas’ud reported Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) as saying, “He who repents of a sin is like him who has not sinned.” [Ibn Maja & Bayhaqi]

Please see more details of your answer here:
How Can I Right the Wrong of Stealing Money from My Dad?
How to Redress Wrong From Stealing?
How Can I Repent From Stealing From My Mother?
How Do I Repent From the Theft I Committed as a Teenager?
How Do I Repent From Petty Theft When I Was Young?

May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.