Broke Public Property

27-8-2022 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalamu Aleikum.I have broken public property , wich doesn´t belong to an individual , is it sufficient when the person responsible (like janitor) tells me it´s ok or do I need to pay. How are we supposed to give money to a government , school or company?Please answer , the info I found wasn`t enough.
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

If you have broken an item that is permissible to be used by the public while using it in a normal manner, away from aggression or negligence, then in our view you are not supposed to pay something as a guarantee and you are not required to do anything.

However, if you are not allowed to use the item or if you are allowed to use it but you did not do so in the proper way, then you should pay for what you have damaged. We meanwhile stress that the doorkeeper’s or the watchman’s permission to you to use the item is not a valid legal excuse that exempts you from guaranteeing the item; rather, you are pardoned only if given permission by the officials authorized to do so.

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 356653.

Allah knows best.

www.islamweb.net