He Returned, But He Did Not Find Him

Question :

I built a house for myself four years ago. I purchased marble for the walls and there remained the sum of one thousand five hundred Riyals outstanding to the owner of the marble's account. But when I went after some time to pay the sum, I did not find the owner of the first establishment, but it had been transferred to the property of another person. How can I pay the money to the previous owner of the establish- ment, bearing in mind that I purchased the marble from an employee in the establishment, not from the owner directly, so I do no know the owner of the establishment personally, since my dealings were directly with the employee. I have asked about the previous owner of the establishment, but I did not receive any answer and I have tried more than once? I request you to kindly inform me what is the legal way to pay this sum, so that I may absolve myself of responsibility in the matter. May Allah reward you with the best of rewards.

Answer:

You must increase your inquiries and investigations regarding the owner of this establishment, if you know the name of the establishment and its location, because most likely the neighboring establishments will know him and they will inform you of his name, his address, telephone number and so on. Therefore you must complete the inquiries regarding him and follow up the information regarding him and when he moved etc, so that you will be absolved of responsibility. But if you are unable to do that having tried your utmost without result, then give the sum in charity on behalf of the owner, as a trust, then if you find him after that, give him the choice between a reward in the Hereafter and returning his trust to him, in which case, the reward (of the charity) will be for you. And Allah knows best.

Source:
Ibn Jibreen
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 5 Pages 29-30