A man found a collection of golden ornaments and sold them because he was ignorant of the ruling of Luqatah in Al-Haram

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Q: A man has been in Makkah and while he was there he found (Part No. 11; Page No. 247) a collection of golden ornaments. He sold them and made use of their price because he was ignorant of the ruling of Luqatah (a lost item found by someone else) in Makkah. Now he knows the ruling and he is regretful and wants to repent to Allah and acquit himself of what happened. How should he do that, taking into consideration that this happened several years ago? May Allah benefit Islam and Muslims with you. Amen.

A: This man made a mistake, because the Luqatah in Al-Haram (all areas within the Sacred Sanctuary of Makkah) is not allowed to be picked up except by someone who will make a public announcement of it. However, he did that ignorantly, so it is obligatory on him to give its value in charity to the needy people in Al-Haram on behalf of their owner and to repent to Almighty Allah for that.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.