Assalaamu alaykum. I had a maid in my house for helping in household activities. One day I suspected that she had stolen some money from my locker. I told my family members about it, and they scolded her and was kicked out of the house as she had done these activities in the past as well. Afterwards, I calculated my money and discovered that she had not stolen the money and that I was wrong. I felt very guilty and am also fearful of Allaah as I have blamed that girl for what she did not do. I did not do it intentionally, nor did I want to harm her in any way. It all happened all of a sudden. What should I do to correct that now? If I tell my family that I was wrong, then they will never trust me, and I will lose their respect as well. Kindly guide me on how to handle the situation and correct my mistake.

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 is His slave and Messenger.

A Muslim should be patient and not hasten, as these are two good qualities that Allah loves. Ibn 'Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet said to Ashajj Abdul-Qays, “Indeed, you possess two qualities that Allah loves: forbearance and deliberateness.”

The consequence of haste is regret; it is for this reason that we are ordered in the Sharia to make sure about things before acting; Allah says (what means): {O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.} [Quran 49:6]

Therefore, you should have examined the situation before accusing that maid; the same thing applies to your family as to when you informed them about the case.

Hence, you are obliged to repent to Allah; the conditions of repentance are clarified in fatwa 86527, so please refer to it.

Now, telling your family the truth depends on which of the following two is the case:

First case: they wronged her by kicking her out because of what you said about her and your accusation against her; in this case, you must inform them because they must repent from this, and this cannot be done unless you inform them. As for your statement, "If I tell my family that I was wrong, then they will never trust me, and I will lose their respect as well"; then you might avoid this by being wise, choosing good words, and having a good introduction when you want to inform them about the truth.

Second case: they kicked her out because of another matter regarding which they had a good reason to do so; in such case, they did not wrong her. Hence, there is no need to inform them; rather, informing them could be a pure disadvantage.

Finally, it should be pointed out that repentance from moral rights does not necessitate informing the person whom someone has wronged [such as in backbiting]; rather, it is enough to supplicate for the person and speak good about him. This is the most preponderant opinion about the matter, but there is a difference of opinion among the scholars about it. For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 251593.

Allah knows best.