Answered by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari
Can you help me, I have had some jewelry stolen and I need to know who has taken it, please can you tell me where I can find an ALIM a person who can tell me if the jewelry was stolen from a member of the family or someone else.
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful
Firstly, it should be known as a general rule, that according to Shari’ah nothing can be proven or otherwise except through the method and way prescribed by the Shari’ah. It is impermissible to attribute a particular offence to an individual unless it is proven by the prescribed evidence in Shari’ah.
For example, to establish and prove adultery, it is necessary that there are four witnesses who are clearly able to bear testimony on the fact that a certain individual was engaged in this evil sin. It can not be proven by other means, such as: seeing a dream or by performing a certain act, etc
Allah Most High Says:
“And pursue not that of which you have no knowledge” (Surah al-Isra, 36).
The meaning of “knowledge” in the above-mentioned verse is evidence’.
The great exegete of the Holy Qur’an, Imam Ibn Kathir quotes the following in his monumental Tafseer of the Qur’an:
“Ali ibn Abu Talha reported that Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) said: “Do not say anything of which you have no knowledge”. Al-Awfi said: “Do not accuse anyone of that which you have no knowledge”. Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah said: “It means bearing false witness”. Qatadah said: “Do not say, I have seen, when you have not, and do not say, I have heard, when you did not hear anything”.
In conclusion, what they said means that Allah Almighty forbids speaking without knowledge and only on the basis of suspicion, which is mere imagination and illusions (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 3/57).
In Surah al-Hujurat Allah says:
“O you who believe! Avoid suspicion as much as possible, for suspicion in some cases is a sin” (49/12).
In the light of the above, the scholars have explained that it is impermissible to accuse or blame an individual for a crime based on a certain practise or deed that showed he/she was the perpetrator. However, it is permissible to carry out such practices, but they will only serve as a means to lead you in the right direction in you investigation.
With regards to your jewelry being lost or stolen, I don’t really know anybody who can help you find it. Also, as mentioned earlier, if you do visit a person who performs certain practices that might enclose a name of a certain individual, it will be impermissible to accuse him/her, unless it is proven by the evidence which is required in Shari’ah.
It is preferable that you turn to Allah Almighty with full devotion and supplicate to him. He is the only one who has full knowledge of the unseen.
You may recite the following Dua:
“Allahumma ra’addaddalalati wa hadiyaddalalati anta tahdi minaddalalati urdud alayya da’allati bi qudratica wa sultanica fa innaha min ata ika wa fadlik”
Trans: “O Allah, returner of the lost and guide of the strayed, You are the One who will show the right way out of error, make my lost property return to me with Your power and command because it is from Your gift and favour (to me)” (Hisn al-Hasin).
And Allah knows best
Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari, UK