Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalam Alaikum,

Dear Brothers/Sisters in islam, I would to address my sincere appreciation to you for the enlightment your providing to our us. Thank you so much and may Almighty Allah rewards you Abondantly.

My Question: Please I have had a friend who was a shop keeper in 1985, this friend of mine is dead together with the owner. My worries, my concerns and problems is that during my friend's stay in the shop he use the money of the shop to buy and things and cloth some times for me and other or our friends.

Now I want to pay all the expenditures that my late friend have made to the family of the owner's family in.  How Can do this islamically???

Expecting to hear you.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Pay debts of dead

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world and the Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our humble efforts in the propagation of the Truth. If our humble and modest efforts have helped even one brother or sister get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we would consider ourselves indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Lord Most Merciful to serve in His Cause. We hope, beg, and pray the Merciful Lord accepts our humble and weak efforts, forgives us our shortcomings, and saves you, us, and all the believers from the torment of the Hell Fire. Ameen.

Your Question: Now I want to pay all the expenditures that my late friend have made to the family of the owner's family in.  How Can do this islamically???

If the gifts your deceased friend sent you and your friends from the shop were taken as a debt, and if you wish to fulfill the debts of your deceased friend….you could simply calculate an approximate amount of those gifts and send that amount to the heirs of the shop-owner.

But if Allah forbid, the gifts that your deceased friend sent you were taken from the property of the shop-owner without his precise approval, then it would be considered a theft in Shariah….and your deceased friend alone will be responsible for the burden of the deeds he did on the Day of Judgment.

If you were the recipient of those gifts, and you know that your deceased friend sent you those gifts either by taking a debt or as a theft from the shop-owner, it would only be righteousness on your part that you strive your best to determine that amount and forward that amount to the heirs of the deceased shop-owner. That would be closest to piety and righteousness in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan