Can I Use the Phone Purchased With Stolen Money?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Two years ago, I was 16 years old, I used to hang out with some people who were a bad influence on me. I used to steal money from my grandma to go with them, and I regret it very, very much and want to repent I stopped stealing and will never ever do it again, but with some of the money I stole, I bought a phone and a charger, this phone is my main phone now.
Is it permissible for me to keep using it? Will I get a sin every time I open the phone? And if I read the Quran from it, will Allah accept? Can I keep using the phone until the time when I return the money?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
Allah bless you for repenting and returning to Him.
The fact that you have this remorse is a good sign of your sincere repentance. The Beloved Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Remorse is repentance.” [Ahmad; Ibn Maja; and others]
Return The Money
If you stole from others, you need to take the means to find them and return the item or its monetary value to them—and to repent to Allah Most High. In your case, you return the money as soon as you possibly can to your grandmother. When you have the money ready, just go and give it to her without mentioning anything of the past unless you want to, which she will happily forgive and forget. [Khadimi/Birgivi, al-Bariqa al-Mahmudiyya Sharh al-Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya; Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
Make a Habit of Repentance
A sinner’s sigh of agony due to sin is dearer to Allah Most High. So, think about continuing to repent and seeking forgiveness if you fall into sin.
You can search for more related answers on SeekersGuidance.com
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.
Check the related answers here:
How Do I Return Stolen Items When I Can’t Find Their Owners? – (seekersguidance.org)
A Reader on Tawba (Repentance) – SeekersGuidance
Purification of the Heart for Youth: Diseases of the Heart and Their Cure – YouTube
The Path of Muhammad: Birgivi’s Manual of Taqwa Explained – YouTube
Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms, and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart: Hamza Yusuf: 9780985565909: Amazon.com: Books (Book)
Prayer of Repentance: Salat al-Tawba – SeekersGuidance
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I pray this helps with your question.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey.
He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan.
He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.
He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His personal interest is the love of books and gardening.
