How To Compensate for Lying and Using Sick Leave To Remain Absent From Work?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

I worked for a company that gave their employees sick pay. Sometimes I was tired and didn’t want to go to work so every once in a while I would take the day off telling work I was sick when I wasn’t. I received sick pay for those days.

Now, this is bothering me as I know it’s cheating and consuming the company’s wealth unlawfully. I can not return the money to the company directly as they were bought by another corporation. The previous owners would have been the shareholders and I have no clue who they are as this was a publicly traded company.

Can I calculate how much money I received for being sick when I wasn’t and donate that amount to a Muslim charity intending the reward to go to the former shareholders/owners of the company? Will this be considered restoring the people’s rights and expiate for my cheating?

Answer

You should approach the company now, and speak to whoever would be in charge of dealing with this matter. The money owed to the company then will be owed to the current owners. You may find that they will forgo it and excuse you.

Returning the rights of others is one of the conditions of valid repentance. The others are remorseful for having done the deed, ceasing immediately, and resolving never to return to it. [Nawawi, Riyadh al-Salihin]

Give Charity to Compensate

One thing you should do, however, is to give some regular charity intending the reward of it to go to those to who you owe the money to. This way, you will have compensated them and will have a defense on the Day of Judgement. In fact, this is a good practice everyone should adopt to compensate all those who we have wronged. [Sha’rani, al Kawkab al-Shahiq]

It’s best to set things right now before the coming of “a fearsome day when even the truly chivalrous man will flee from his bother, his mother and father, his lifelong wife, and his children. Every single person, on that day, will have enough to truly worry them.” [Quran, 80:34-37]

May Allah bless you with the best of both worlds.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.