Unintentionally damaging property
Category:
Business Dealings & Money Matters
According to Madhhab:
Hanafi
Reference:
1441-029
Question:
I
have a question about unintentionally damaging someone else’s property.
I was in the parking lot one day and my car’s door was open and touching
against the car next to me. When I realized this, I looked at the car next to
me and noticed a mark on it’s body which I easily rubbed off with my finger and
it was almost non-existent (very minor blur showing). However, when I took my
eyes off that area on the car’s body I couldn’t relocate where the mark was
anymore. Additionally, this car already had other blemishes/scratches on it
prior to this incident and these were far more pronounced then the mark I
unintentionally caused. So, I sat in my car and drove away.
The mark left by my car on this other car was almost non-existent and It is
reasonable to believe that if the owner of the car gets wash/wax service on the
car to get rid of the already existing scratches on the bodyof his/her car that
whatever is left of the mark left will easily be removed. A simple
youtube/google search for "car scratch remover" reveals many products
available at a nominal price that can accomplish this.
Did I do anything wrong? Do I need to somehow financially compensate for
damages caused? I don’t have any details of the owner or the car now.
have a question about unintentionally damaging someone else’s property.
I was in the parking lot one day and my car’s door was open and touching
against the car next to me. When I realized this, I looked at the car next to
me and noticed a mark on it’s body which I easily rubbed off with my finger and
it was almost non-existent (very minor blur showing). However, when I took my
eyes off that area on the car’s body I couldn’t relocate where the mark was
anymore. Additionally, this car already had other blemishes/scratches on it
prior to this incident and these were far more pronounced then the mark I
unintentionally caused. So, I sat in my car and drove away.
The mark left by my car on this other car was almost non-existent and It is
reasonable to believe that if the owner of the car gets wash/wax service on the
car to get rid of the already existing scratches on the bodyof his/her car that
whatever is left of the mark left will easily be removed. A simple
youtube/google search for "car scratch remover" reveals many products
available at a nominal price that can accomplish this.
Did I do anything wrong? Do I need to somehow financially compensate for
damages caused? I don’t have any details of the owner or the car now.
Answer:
An action done unintentionally is excused, however if it involves another person’s right then compensation will be necessary. (Imdadul Ahkam Vol. 3 Pg. 660). If the damage according to an expert assessor is negligible, you will not be responsible. In future if you cause significant damage, a wiser stunt to adopt in such a scenario is to leave a note with your name, your address, a contact phone number, and an explanation of the accident (so that the victim can't claim that you crushed his car when you only scratched the paint). If an assessor regards it as significant enough for a figure to be put onto it and the owner of the car cannot be located then the equivalent of the repair cost for that damage must be given out in sadaqah on behalf of the owner of that vehicle.
AND ALLAH TA'AALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST
ANSWERED BY: Najeeb Muhammad
CHECKED AND APPROVED BY: Mufti Muhammed Saeed Motara Saheb D.B.
Islamic Date:١٨ محرم ١٤٤١
English Date: 18 September 2019