Giving back Stolen money in the form of gifts(objects)
Assalamualaikum.. i was very bad in my past so i stolen my aunt’s money
And nowadays my aunt is very much fond of eating irani dates (kujoor) can i give her as a gift irani dates ? Or i have to give back money also?
Answer
Wa’alaykum as Salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,
Alhamdulillah, Allah is blessing you with the oppurtunity of returning the rights of your aunt in this world.
Together with making sincere repentamce and imploring Allah to forgive you, you need to return the exact item which you took unlawfully. You cannot give the rice, even if you know that your aunt loves it.
When you give the cash back, she can decide for herself if she prefers using those funds to purchase Irani rice, of if she wants to use it for something else.
References
(ويجب رد عين المغصوب) ما لم يتغير تغيرا فاحشا مجتبى (في مكان غصبه) لتفاوت القيم باختلاف الأماكن (ويبرأ بردها ولو بغير علم المالك) في البزازية غصب دراهم إنسان من كيسه ثم ردها فيه بلا علمه برئ وكذا لو سلمه إليه بجهة أخرى كهبة أو إيداع أو شراء وكذا لو أطعمه فأكله
(حاشية ابن عابدين – 6/ 182)