Stolen Money Cannot Be Given to Charity, Egyptian Fatwa Official Says

Sheikh Ahmed Wissam, a fatwa secretary at Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta, said money taken from an employer without the owners’ knowledge cannot be given away as charity.

Wissam was responding to a question about how to deal with funds obtained from a workplace without permission. He described the act as unlawfully consuming other people’s wealth.

His answer stressed that charitable giving does not resolve the obligation arising from theft. The money must be returned to those entitled to it, rather than redirected to a charitable cause.

Wissam also emphasized that restoring the rights of those wronged is a condition for valid repentance, placing repayment at the heart of correcting the wrongdoing.