The Law on Using Someone Else’s Charger Without Permission: Apparently This is the Rule in Jurisprudence

Imagine you are sitting in a room, your cell phone battery has 5% left and in the corner of the room there is charger belonging to someone who happened to be left behind. The temptation to “hit the cash for a while” immediately appears. But behind that one plug, there is a big problem that we often underestimate. Are there other people’s rights that we are ignoring? Is technology making us more lax about manners, or is it opening the door to new negligence?

The questions above give rise to discussions of jurisprudence that are not simple. Charger it’s not just a cable, it’s ownership, benefits and permission. In fiqh, small things that are ignored can become big problems before Allah SWT. So, before our fingers plug the cable into the cellphone, we are actually asking one question to our hearts, is this convenience, or is it even a violation?

Fiqh Rules regarding Use Licensing

Jurisprudence regulates almost all aspects of human life. Including their relationship with each other. One of them is regarding the use of other people’s goods, or those of a general nature. Everything is discussed in fiqh in the formulations of the scholars in the yellow book.

Wahbah Zuhaili quoted general rules that had been formulated by the ulama. The rules are as follows;

No one should take other people’s money without a valid reason.

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It means: “It is not permissible for anyone to take someone’s property without a reason permitted by the Shari’a.”

So, no one, whether a father to his child, a son to his parents, or a husband to his wife, is allowed to take another person’s property, either for serious reasons or just for fun, without a sharia reason that permits such taking.

Human property rights are protected and respected in the Shari’a. Therefore, whoever takes someone else’s property without a valid reason, he bears full responsibility and is obliged to replace it.

Interpretation rules that strengthen the above concept are as follows;

No one should throw away another person’s belongings without his permission.

It means: “No one may do anything to another person’s property without their permission.”

According to Wahbah Zuhaili, this includes direct actions, such as spending, taking or giving the item. Any such action, if carried out without the owner’s permission, is considered a violation. The perpetrator is treated like aangry (usurper of rights), so that he is obliged to bear and compensate for all the losses he causes.

Unlicensed Charger Case

Furthermore, regarding the case we are discussing, there are interesting offers from several scholars. Although, it doesn’t explicitly say “charger,” because in the past there was nothing like that, but there was a matching problem in the same context.

One of them was Imam Ibnu Hajar al-Haetami, he was once asked about a problem.

(He was asked) – May God Almighty give benefits -: What if the custom becomes tolerant of taking money from legume plants at the beginning of the planting season? For example, there is something else that can be eaten, is it halal and good or not? He probably took the child and took him to rich people, and the custom was to give him something in return for it. Otherwise, wouldn’t he bring something for them and eat up that piety and other things, even though there is still some in the soul of the jurist?

One of the interesting questions as explained above is whether the habit of taking small amounts of plants such as vegetables or newly grown grains from other people’s property, even though it is local custom to understand each other, is halal or not?

So he answered with a fairly detailed explanation;

(He answered) by saying: If the customs of the people of an area are tolerant of the produce of the land, so that the taker declares that the owner of the property is not affected by it or considers it likely to be allowed to take it, in accordance with what they state about picking up fallen fruit, and whoever is allowed to take something, he disposes of it by eating it, not by selling it or the like, unless the custom remains with the consent of the owner by throwing it away as he wishes, in which case it is permissible for him to give it to another person, and that person may eat it, yes, if he knows or thinks that she is only allowing it in return for something he will give her, then it is a no-no for him. Eat from him, until he rewards him or decides to do so, and since he is sure of his consent and he has no doubts about it, then should not leave him. Eating out of piety, otherwise abandoning it is considered piety.

It means: If in an area there is a general custom that plant owners forgive other people who take a few vegetables or young plants, until the taker is sure or has a strong suspicion that the owner does not mind, then the taking is permitted. The law is similar to being allowed to pick up fallen fruit.

The person who may take it may eat it, but may not sell it, unless local customs also state that the owner of the item is willing to treat it for free, including giving it away to someone else, then in that case it may also be given to another person, and the person who receives it may eat it.

However, if it is known or strongly suspected that the owner is only forgiving because he expects something in return (e.g. a gift or a “small wage”), then he must not eat the reward before giving the reward or actually committing to giving it.

As long as a person is sure that the owner is truly willing and there are no doubts, then leaving him is not a sane attitude. On the other hand, if there are still doubts about the owner’s willingness, then leaving it is considered wara’.

If we put the case of taking a small amount of plants in Ibn Hajar’s answer into the context of using someone else’s charger, then the equivalent is more or less as follows:

Can use an unlicensed charger if: First, there are general habits that indicate willingness. Second, the user believes or strongly suspects the owner will not mind.

And this law becomes impossible if: First, there are doubts about the owner’s willingness. Second, or there are allegations that the owner is only willing to be given a certain reward. So, if you are not sure, you are obliged to leave and that is a form of wara’ and is safer.

Also read: Law on taking goods without permission with the intention of paying later

Author: Moch. Vicky Shahrul Hermawan, Mahasantri Mahad Aly An-Nur II “Al-Murtadlo” Malang.

Editor: Sutan