Fatwa #4698824 December 2023Canada
Do I keep an item I got for free without paying due a mix up in communication?
Question
I bought something from Amazon but due to some mixup the order got returned. I contacted the customer service and they sent me the products again but since the original order was returned I was refunded the amount I paid. The order that I received now shows $0 as the price on my invoice which means somehow they didn't charge me for the new shipment. What should I do? Contact the seller to pay the money, give the amount in charity or nothing?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykumwa-rahmatullāhiwa-barakātuh.
Your concern regarding the permissibility of keeping the products is a sign of your Imān and Allāh consciousness.
Honesty and truthfulness are fundamental traits in Islam. Nabī Ṣallāhu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam said in the following Hadith:
عَلَيْكُمْ بِالصِّدْقِ فَإِنَّ الصِّدْقَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْبِرِّ وَإِنَّ الْبِرَّ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَمَا يَزَالُ الرَّجُلُ يَصْدُقُ وَيَتَحَرَّى الصِّدْقَ حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ صِدِّيقًا وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَالْكَذِبَ فَإِنَّ الْكَذِبَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْفُجُورِ وَإِنَّ الْفُجُورَ يَهْدِي إِلَى النَّارِ وَمَا يَزَالُ الرَّجُلُ يَكْذِبُ وَيَتَحَرَّى الْكَذِبَ حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ كَذَّابً
(صحيح مسلم 2607 سنن ابي داود 4989)
Translation: Adhere to the truth, for the truth leads to virtue and virtue leads to Paradise, and a man continues to speak the truth and endeavors to tell the truth until he is recorded as truthful by Allah. And avoid telling of a lie, for telling of a lie leads to obscenity, and obscenity leads to Hell Fire, and a man continues to lie and endeavors to lie until he is recorded as a liar by Allah.
It is therefore your duty and responsibility to contact the seller and inform them of them of what transpired. If they require you to return the item or pay for it, then you should do so. If they had gifted the item to you, then you may accept it.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Ikraam Elias Gangat
Student DarulIftaa
Lusaka, Zambia
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
(2021-02-04)