Ruling on taking kaafirs’ wealth by treacherous means

Ruling on taking kaafirs’ wealth by treacherous means

We live in a western country, where one of the brothers receives money from the government under the “social services” program. He made a deal with them on the basis of specific conditions, one of which is that he will tell them of any income he receives from any source. After a while he found work but he did not receive any payment from the boss until after four months. During these four months he did not tell them anything because he had not received anything. In the fifth month he received his money in full from the boss, but he spent it all paying off debts that he owed. Then after that he told the social services that he had found work and signed off the dole. What is the ruling on the money that he received during those four months? Does he have to repay it to the government, knowing that he was obliged to tell them about the debt but he did not?

 Another issue is that he does not have the full amount that he took from them. Thirdly, if he tells them now the matter may go to the police and he will have a big problem but may be pardoned, depending on the official who examines the case. The brother regrets it now and wants to set matters straight.

From Quran Blog 

And important note that we want to discuss and share with you its is about reading Quran and Reciting Holy Quran to understand it, Ramadan is the month when the beautiful the Holy Quran has been revealed.  A miracle by the creator of the worlds, Allah (SWT)  Should we not glorify him by reading the gift he has sent down for us and learn Arabic Quran by heart  to feel the power of it and learn is with translation to understand it and let our heart fill will tears of glory and wash away our sins  “Will they not meditate on the Quran, or are there locks on the hearts”, read Holy Quran, Surah Muhammad, Verse 24.

End from holy Quran reciter blog

 

Praise be to Allaah.

Taking wealth from kaafirs in treacherous and deceitful
ways is haraam, because deceit is haraam in Islam, whether it is done to a
Muslim or to a kaafir. 

What a Muslim is obliged to do is to respect the agreement
that exists between him and that country, even if it is a kaafir state,
because the fact that it is kaafir does not mean that it is permissible for
him to violate that agreement or betray it and consume its wealth
unlawfully. 

The brother should have disclosed his work regardless of the
debt that he concealed from them. 

If Allaah guides a Muslim to repent from taking people’s
wealth unlawfully, then one of the conditions of this repentance is that he
should return to people what is rightfully theirs, even if they are kaafirs.
If there is the fear of humiliation or criminal charges if he returns money
to the social services department, then it is permissible for him to look
for a suitable way of preserving his dignity whilst also returning money to
its rightful owner without embarrassing himself, such as sending the money
in the mail or delegating someone to take it to them without mentioning his
name or what he did to them. That is because it is not essential for the one
who wants to return things to their rightful owners to disclose himself or
his identity, because the purpose is to return things to their rightful
owners. 

For information on the evidence for this ruling, the views of
the scholars and what he must do after having repented, please see the
answers to questions no. 47086,
7545,
14367 and
31234. 

If he does not have the whole amount, he may return what he
can afford now, and the rest will remain a debt that he owes, which he must
return when he is able to. 

And Allaah knows best.