Question:

I have been noticing that my money is getting stolen from my house I was confused and started blaming my family about it but one day I saw the maid who has been working in our house for more than 7 years stealing the money from my bag I was shocked at that moment and didnt say anything to her but after few days I noticed that some amount has again been stolen from the bag. I called my maid and asked her about it, she got really hyper and started cursing me. I told her that I have seen her stealing money from my bag but she refused to admit and in that chaos I asked her to put her hand on Qur’an and swear that you havent stolen a single amount. I was very hyped at the time that I didnt realised what I was saying. The maid put her hand on the Qur'an and swore falsely. Then she asked me to put my hand on Qur’an and to swear if I have seen her stealing from the bag. I didnt swear on Qur’an as I knew that Qur’an is a holy book and even if I have seen her stealing I didnt do it. Then she started shouting on me and told me that I was lying as I didnt swear by putting hand on Qur’an. She left the job then. Now as I am completely in my senses I am regretting that I shouldnt have bring Quran in the talk. Can you suggest me what should I do?

Answer:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

We are sorry to hear of your predicament. We ask Allāh ﷻ to efface your problems and to grant you a better alternative. Allāh ﷻ created this life to be a test and as such, He ﷻ tests different people in different ways by placing them in different situations and predicaments to see if they react in a responsible way that is in accordance with the dictates and principles of Islām or irresponsibly such that it flouts the commandments of Islām. 

You were put into a situation in which you saw your maid stealing money from your bag and confronted her a few days later regarding it. During the confrontation, she swore on the Qurʾān that she hadn’t stolen while you refrained to swear on the Qurʾān out of reverence, keeping in mind its sanctity. While we cannot comment on the prudence of the way in which the confrontation was conducted due to the many possible variabilities that are at play, we commend you for keeping the reverence in the Qurʾān in mind. If you had, however, chosen to swear on the Qurʾān, in principle it is permissible to do so if you are speaking the truth[1]. As such, from the recount you have provided, we cannot identify any sin that has occurred on your part.

You ask us about what you should do. While you might not have engaged in any sin, a Muslim is always reflective and ever on a journey to self-improvement and becoming a better person. A believer is not impetuous as impetuousness is from Shayṭʾān[2]. For this reason, we would advise you to reflect on how you approached the maid. Perhaps the money she was making were not meeting her expenses. A Muslim should think of excuses when he or she sees another fellow Muslim making mistakes[3]. While this does not absolve the maid from her sin, what could you have done to ensure that this was not the case? You can also reflect on what kind of approach is more conducive to reform. In other words, if you had planned your confrontation and gone through with it differently, could it have been possible to persuade her to give up the evil habit of stealing?

Finally, no matter how much we try, there will always be room for improvement and always areas where we got something wrong. This is part of the human experience because we are flawed beings[4]. Only Allāh ﷻ is perfect. Hence, even after we do something to the best of our ability, we must ask Allāh ﷻ for forgiveness for the lapses in our deeds, however flawless they may seem to us. 

And Allah Ta'ala knows best.

Mufti Muhammad Haris Siddiqui
30/06/2022

Checked and approved by:
Mufti Faizal Riza

 Darul Ifta Australia
 www.fatwa.org.au

______________________

 

 

[1] (لَا) يُقْسَمُ (بِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى كَالنَّبِيِّ وَالْقُرْآنِ وَالْكَعْبَةِ) قَالَ الْكَمَال: وَلَا يَخْفَى أَنَّ الْحَلِفَ بِالْقُرْآنِ الْآنَ مُتَعَارَفٌ فَيَكُونُ يَمِينًا. وَأَمَّا الْحَلِفُ بِكَلَامِ اللَّهِ

٣/٧١٢ سعيد

 

فتلوی قاسمیہ ج.17 ص.30 دار الاشاعت

کفایہ المفتی ج.9 ص.116 دار الفاروق کراچی

[2] "العجلة من الشيطان" أخرجه الحاكم في مستدركه وصححه الذهبي، وكذلك أخرجه أحمد في مسنده والبيهقي في سننه

 

[3]أخرج الإمام البيهقي بسنده في شُعَب الإيمان إلى جعفر بن محمد قال: إذا بلغك عن أخيك الشيء تنكره، فالتمس له عذرًا واحدًا إلى سبعين عذرًا، فإن أصبته، وإلا، قل: لعل له عذرًا لا أعرفه.

 

وأخرجه ابن عساكر بسنده إلى محمد بن سيرين من قوله أي من قول ابن سيرين، ولفظه: قال ابن سيرين: إذا بلغك عن أخيك شيء فالتمس له عذرًا، فإن لم تجد له عذرًا فقل: لعل له عذرًا.

 

[4] عن أنس بن مالك -رضي الله عنه- قال: قال رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم-: «كلُّ بني آدم خَطَّاءٌ, وخيرُ الخَطَّائِينَ التوابون». 
 [حسن] - [رواه الترمذي وابن ماجه والدارمي وأحمد]