بسم الله. ربي زدني علما. امين

بسم الله. ربي زدني علما. امين
May Allah the Almighty grant us more beneficial knowledge, accept our good deeds, forgive our mistakes, protect us from fitna, and join us with the righteous believers in Jannatul Ferdaus. Ameen.

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Tips: Doing Charity With Money Whose Owner Is Unidentifiable Or Unreachable

💐 In The Name Of Allah The Most Gracious The Most Merciful 
🗒️ Question: I am an employee, working in one of the stores which specialize in selling clothes. One day I found 500 Saudi Riyals (Around 6000 something Philippine pesos) near the box (or cashier's counter). Then I went to the room where the controls of the hidden cameras (CCTV) are installed and from viewing a clip of the recording, I observed that the large amount of money fell from one of the female customers. I tried my best to wait for her return (in case she'd come back asking if we saw the money) for a certain period of time, but she didn't show up again at the shop. 
So I sent it to one (or some) of my needy relatives with the intention of doing charity / sadaqah in the name of or on behalf of the owner of the money. Is this deed of mine correct or accepted? 
📜 Answer: Inn-sha-Allah. I ask Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala that He accepts.
Approximate translation of the response given by sheikh Saleh Al-Fawzan (May Allah the Most Merciful always protect him. Ameen.) 
Lesson: Permissibility of doing charity for Allah's sake on behalf of an unidentified stranger whose money is found laying on the ground or in a public place. 
Allah the Almighty knows best. 
📖 Abu Sa'eed RadhiAllahu 'anhu narrated: Allah's noble Messenger Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "The honest and trustworthy merchant (businessperson, entrepreneur) will be with the prophets, the truthful ones, and the martyrs."
Source: Sunan At-Tirmidhi 1209
Grade: Sahih li ghayrihi (Authentic due to external evidence) according to Al-Albani 
https://youtu.be/n6o0vRbkZo0