Answered by Shaykh Sohail Hanif, SunniPath Academy Teacher
Assalakum alaykum
You are right for being concerned about paying back money misappropriated from other people. The blessed Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) would not pray the funeral prayer over those who died in debt. He also mentioned (Allah bless him and give him peace) that martyrdom in the way of Allah eliminates all of one’s sins apart from debt.
This being the case, repaying one’s debts to others is of the most pressing of duties.
You must either pay back your relatives or ask them to forgive you your debt.
Allah Most High has blessed us with our intellects in order that we might use them to apply the divinely revealed law in our lives. In situations like this one must think of creative ways to pay back the money without worsening one’s relations with one’s relatives.
Possible ways to pay them back might include sending a cheque from somebody else’s bank account so that it cannot be traced back to one, or finding out their bank details and paying the money straight into their account without them knowing, if they are as well off as you say they might not notice a $3000 increase in their account, or finally, ringing the bell and leaving the money on the doorstep and running away (though this might be a bit tricky to pull off!).
May Allah make the path to a sincere repentance easy for us all through His infinite mercy and limitless grace.
Sohail Hanif