Asalamualaikum
I began a home education course last year around April when I was 17. In turn the government paid us benefits.
However I slacked from April last year and only began taking the course seriously this year in early Jan.
I had already made the intention to save up money to pay back the amount I unlawfully received from last year April to this year Jan.
The problem is, recently we received information that we shouldn’t have been receiving the money at all because the course wasn’t qualified. However we were told we didn’t have to pay back the amount they gave us due to bad inquiry on their side.
They don’t know that I wasn’t doing the course last year though, even though they were giving us money for it.
Now that I know that the money they gave us for that course shouldn’t have been given to us anyway, but they don’t expect us to pay it back, should I forget collecting and paying back the money I unlawfully received last yr?
Also –
I get a lot of waswasa and now the thought came to me of the possibility of me lying when telling them the details of the course initially. I’d like to think I didn’t but I have doubts. want to not think of this thought anymore and consider it just Shaytan. Can I leave this thought just as that?
Answer
Wa’alaykum as Salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,
The safest thing to do in such a situation is to write to the management (or appropriate department) and inform them that you got the funds but did not utilise it for studying, so you would like to pay back. If they reply, you can follow what they suggest in their reply. If they did not reply, then you can accept what they said about it being a bad inquiry on their path.
Do not worry of the Waswasah, and by writting the above, you do not have to have to disclose anything further.
And Allaah Ta’aala knows best
Wassalaam,
Ismail Moosa (Mufti)