A company accountant losing some money kept in his drawer
Fatwa No: 179229

Question

I am working in a company in Accounts dept. I use to make payments through cash, which (CASH) I kept in my draws. 2 days before some one has taken some amt of cash from my draw. I want to know how did this. As i want to clear my position

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.

An accountant is a trustee of what is under his hand but he does not guarantee what he is entrusted to keep unless he abused it or was negligent in keeping it as the Prophet said: "There is no liability on the trustee.” [Al-Bayhaqi]

Accordingly, if putting the money in the drawer is something that you were authorized to do either under the terms applied by your company or according to the customs, and you were not negligent in preserving it, then you do not guarantee what was stolen and you are acquitted of liability.

On the other hand, if you were negligent in preserving it and you transgressed what you were authorized to do about it, then you are obliged to guarantee it from your own money.

The Fiqh Encyclopedia reads: “If neglecting the trust leads to losing it or to its destruction, then this requires that one guarantees it whether this was a trust which was given to him for keeping it like a deposit or that it was a trust included within a contract, like a rented item…..”

Allaah Knows best.

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