Will This Be Considered Deception ?
Question: What should one do in the following situation
someone wants to move to another country for Islamic reasons and a person said they would help him and gave him £120 as part of this planning of the trip the person who wants to go to the country had a pure intention and really wanted to go
now he had no intention of deceiving the person at all he got the money he went on the internet and couldn’t find a suitable flight and he thought maybe it isn’t a good idea to move to another country he kept changing his mind until he decided not to go and decided to stay where he is
is this considered a debt? even though the person who gave the money did not ask for it to be paid back i read this is considered like wakeel where someone is entrusted with the money to do it for that purpose this isn’t considered stealing is it if he changed his mind?
what does he do keeping in mind he spent the money on something else.
Answer:
Assalamu Alaikum,
This is not considered as stealing or deception. However, since the money was given for a certain purpose and this was not fulfilled, the person should be paid back the £120. It is essential upon the person who received the money to inform the one who had given the money as to what had happened. If after hearing about the situation, the owner of the money allows the other person to keep the money for any other use, then this will be acceptable and it will be permissible for him to use the money as he wishes.
And Allah Knows best.
Mufti Waseem Khan.
16/1/2014