I had some 500 shares of a company but long back say about ten twelve years i had sold them in the market ans got the money but still i am getting the dividend of the shares
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:
i had
some 500 shares of a company but long back say about ten twelve years i had
sold them in the market ans got the money but still i am getting the dividend
of the shares that means that they are still not transferred so now can i claim
those shares what does islam say about that please adivice me soon ?
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Answer:
Consume unlawful Wealth
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 no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah
Nisaa verse 29:
29 O ye who believe! Consume not up your property among yourselves in
vanities: but let there be amongst you traffic and trade by mutual good-will:
Beloved brother, since you have sold the shares and
received its proceeds, you have absolutely no right to receive any proceeds
arising from the shares, nor claim those shares that you have already sold to and
belong to someone else.
For the one who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last
Day, he should act righteously and immediately inform the company or shares
registrar of their error, return any dividends which he might have received in
error after the shares were sold, and make absolutely sure that he or his heirs
do not benefit even a cent from something that does not belong to them.
Just because there has been a processing error and one
takes advantage of this error and were to knowingly and intentionally consume
the dividends or proceeds from the shares which belong to someone else, or were
to claim the shares which he knows belong to someone else, he would be guilty
of consuming or claiming something which does not belong to him…this would not
only be illegal and a crime punishable by law, but also a grave sin in the
Sight of Allah Subhanah.
If one dishonestly consumes or claims something which he
knows belongs to someone else, he will be guilty of consuming the ‘haraam’ and
even if he were never to get caught in the life of this world, he will have a
severe accounting in the Presence of the All-Knowing and All-Just Lord on an
Inevitable and Tumultuous Day!
Allah's Messenger (saws) heard some people
quarreling at the door of his dwelling, so he (saws) went out to them and said,
"I am only a human being, and litigants with cases of dispute come to me,
and someone of you may happen to be more eloquent (in presenting his case) than
the other, whereby I may consider that he is truthful and pass a judgment in
his favor. If ever I pass a judgment in favor of somebody whereby he
(intentionally) takes another’s right unjustly, then whatever he takes is
nothing but a piece of Fire, and it is up to him to take or leave (the
fire!)."
Such is the severity of intentionally taking, claiming, or
consuming something which one knows does not lawfully belong to them that the
Messenger of Allah (saws) termed this wealth as a piece of the Hell-Fire!
My dear and beloved brother in Islam, as your brothers and
sincere well-wishers in faith, our humble advice to you would be to fear Allah
your Lord and immediately inform the company of their error, return every cent
that you might have received from the shares that you have already sold to
someone else, and never ever even entertain the thought of consuming or
claiming something which you know does not belong to you. Allah is our witness brother, if you do this
only because you fear Allah your Lord and His Day of Accounting, the reward and
honor that you will receive from Him in His Majestic Presence for your
righteousness can only be termed as ‘unimaginable’.
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
Wister