I Have Tricked My Employer. What Should I Do?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum

My friend has tricked his employer by making him believe that he was sick.

Is he required to pay back all the money he has been paid during his sick leave?

Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

Deceit and deception is unlawful. The person should calculate how much income he wrongfully received during this period, erring on the side of caution, and then return this amount to the company.

He should also repent to Allah Most High for his wrongdoing. But remember that correcting a wrong is a sign of the Divine Concern for one, and it is a blessing to be able to remove such darknesses from one’s life.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The one who repents from sin is like the one who never sinned.”

[Nahlawi, al-Durar al-Mubaha fi al-Hazr wa al-Ibaha (123)]

Please also see: A Reader on Tawba (Repentance) and: Welfare and Deception and: Redressing the Wrong of Taking Unearned Money from One’s Employer

And Allah Most High alone knows best.

wassalam,
[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.