What to Do after Misappropriating My Company’s Money?

Answered by Shaykh Farid Dingle 

Question

As a manager in a company, I have access to the company’s cash. A few years ago I had to take some of the cash for a family emergency and I genuinely had the intention to pay it back.

The debt is now huge and it will be very hard to pay it back.

Should I come clean and face the consequences or should I try and cover myself up?

Answer

Dear questioner,

Thank you for your important question.

May Allah relieve you of the great plight that you are in, and make a reason for great happiness in this life and the next, and open up the doors for you from where you never expected.

Your obligation is to return the money that you took, not necessarily to come clean and face the consequences. You may not, however, pay back the money by taking out an interest-bearing loan.

Furthermore, if you have misappropriated funds from your company, you only owe them the amount that you took. I’m not quite sure what the relevance of the market has in bringing your debt to the company into the millions.

If I were in your shoes, I would pray the Prayer of Need, and then go and ask as many people as possible to lend you the money that you actually need to pay back. I would not try and pay the money back with an interest-bearing loan because there would be no barakah in that and only more problems would arise.

See: What Is the Correct and Reasonable Way to Repay Money That Has Been Stolen? (Shafi‘i)- https://seekers.flywheelstaging.com/answers/shafii-fiqh/correct-reasonable-way-repay-money-stolen-shafii/
I pray this helps.

[Shaykh] Farid
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Farid Dingle has completed extensive years of study in the sciences of the Arabic language and the various Islamic Sciences. During his studies, he also earned a CIFE Certificate in Islamic Finance. Over the years he has developed a masterful ability to craft lessons that help non-Arabic speakers gain a deep understanding of the language. He currently teaches courses in the Arabic Language