Can I Bring Back the Same Copy of the Qur’an That I Took From a Mosque Instead of the Original Copy?

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas

Question: A couple of months ago I took a copy of the Quran from a mosque.I planned to bring it back before leaving the country but then I found out that my mom had already put it in one of the moving boxes – and opening them is not an option. I have an other copy of the same Quran. Am I permitted to put back this other copy in place of the original one?

Answer: assalamu alaykum

The basis is that one returns the item that one took. If one is unable to do this then a replacement of the like of the item that was taken must be returned.

It is very important that you return or replace the item that you took as soon as possible as it is not your property. The Qur’an and sunna prohibited taking other peoples wealth through false and invalid means. (2:188) As such, whenever one finds oneself having committed such an act – whether intentionally or unintentionally – he or she must rectify the problem as soon as possible.

Wassalam,
[Ustadh] Salman Younas

Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Salman Younas graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Political Science and Religious Studies. After studying the Islamic sciences online and with local scholars in New York, Ustadh Salman moved to Amman. There he studies Islamic law, legal methodology, belief, hadith methodology, logic, Arabic, and tafsir.