Is Repaying Monetary Value Sufficient if an Item Cannot Be Returned?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

Is repaying an item’s monetary value sufficient when the original item cannot be returned?

Answer

I pray you are well.

Yes, it is sufficient in such a case.

Returning Wrongfully Taken Property

The primary concern in this matter is that if a person has taken someone else’s property wrongfully, or has something that belongs to another, then the obligation is to return the original item itself. This is the first and most important requirement.

If the item still exists and remains unchanged, it must be returned to its owner.

When the Item Has Been Altered or Destroyed

If the item no longer exists in its original form or has been changed, then returning it is no longer possible. For example, if someone took a packet of flour from their neighbor and then used it to bake a cake, the original item has been altered. In that situation, the person must repay the monetary value of the flour to its owner.

The same applies in other cases. If someone takes another person’s car without permission and, Allah forbid, it is involved in an accident and cannot be returned. The obligation is to repay the car’s monetary value.

In such circumstances, returning the item’s financial value fulfills the responsibility.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr. Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr. Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.