Source: http://qa.muftisays.com/?13089
Question ID: #13089
 
Question: Money
Assalamu alaikum. I had money on my bank card that I had stolen from the state. We needed to pay the internet bill, which is usually handled by the parents. Since my parents didn’t want to go to the store to pay through the terminal, they asked me to pay the internet bill, so I paid it using that money through my phone. Later, they gave me back the same amount (since they are the ones who usually pay the internet bill). The money they gave me back was not stolen, but it was forbidden (haram).

Then I used that internet to create a website and earned money from it.

My question is: do I need to return the profit to the person I stole the money from? I heard that income earned from stolen money must be returned to its rightful owner. Or is my case different, and I should simply pay for the time I used the internet for work (3–4 days), so that my income becomes halal and pure? I have already sent money equivalent to 3–4 days of internet usage to a charity organization. Has my income now become clean?
 
 
Answered by: Ulamaa ID 04 (London)
Date: 14/05/2026 10:48am

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الجواب حامداومصليا


First of all, you must repent as stealing is Haram. The stolen money must be returned to the owner as compensation and if that is not possible then you can give it as Sadaqah without any hope of reward.

The money that your parents gave is Halal. You just need to return the stolen money back to the state as compensation.

ويردونها على أربابها ان عرفوهم والاتصدقوا بها لان سبيل الكسب الخبيث التصدق اذاتعذر الرد على صاحبه (ردالمحتار, كتاب الحظر والاباحة, فصل فى البيع ج6 ص385 سعيد)

(ان من شرط التوبة أن ترد الظلامة الى أصحابها فان كان ذالك فى المال وجب أداؤه عيناأودينا مادام مقدوراعليه (القواعد للزركشي ج2 ص245 بيروت

And Allah knows best.

26 Dhul Qa’dah 1447/ 13 May 2026
Mufti Qamruzzaman

London, UK
 
www.MuftiSays.com