Unknowingly using interest funds in one’s account

QUESTION:

A person unkowingly earned interest on a debt account. What should he do for all the interest that he earned over many years, as he has no record of the previous years Should he just start withdrawing interest from the current month or will he be forgiven for all the past interest?

ANSWER:

He should try to calculate or estimate the approximate interest funds that were accrued and used by him over the years. These funds may then be withdrawn from the current account, and given out in charity without any intention of acquiring reward. It will be best to give out a little extra as a precautionary measure and at the same time, he should repent for his error. There is hope of him being forgiven as it was an error on his part and not an intentional act, and furthermore, he intends rectifying the error to the best of his ability.

ALLAH TA’ALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST!

ANSWERED BY:

Mufti Mohammed Desai

Date:- 20 Muharram 1445 / 08 August 2023