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Fatwa CenterCurrency should be repayed in equal amount, regardless of change in value
Question
Assalaamualaikum Warahmatullahi wabarkatuhu, With reference to Fatwa No : 279829 If I have to repay the amount to the government should I pay back the amount as per the current value of money or of the one at the time I have utilized it? I am asking this because I do not have money now to pay immediately and I can only pay in installments. And I cannot contact directly the concerned authorities because the money was from the government. I want to pay it as the Chief Minister's relief fund to the government. Jazakallah
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
You should give back exactly the amount that you have taken regardless of the change in its value, whether its value increased or decreased. So if the amount you have taken unjustly was 60,000 rupees, you should give back the same amount of 60,000 rupees as long as that currency is still used in transactions. Similarly, if the amount of compensation awarded to you by the government was more than this amount, you should give back the same amount, and if it was less than this amount, you should also give back the same amount that was given to you. What should be taken into account is its amount and not its value on the day you took it.
Since you do not possess the whole amount now, you may pay it back in installments according to your ability but it is an obligation to give it back to the authority from which you have taken it as long as this is possible, even indirectly. If it is not possible to give back the amount to the authority from which you have taken it, you may spend it on public interests such as roads, schools, hospitals or the poor and needy. If the Relief Fund which you mentioned will spend the amount in the above mentioned fields, it is acceptable to pay it to this Fund.
Allaah Knows best.
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