A man who owes a debt to another and does not know where he is

Ibrahim said: If you owe a debt to a man and you do not know where he is or where his heirs are, give it in charity on his behalf; then if he comes afterwards, give him the choice.

Abdullah bin Hanash said: A man died owing a debt, and the creditor was not known. Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) ordered him to give an amount equal to the debt in charity on his behalf.

Al-Hasan said: When someone dies owing a debt and it is not known where his heirs are, that debt should be spent in the way of Allah; and if he was a Muslim and it is not known where his heirs are, it should be given in charity on his behalf.

Abu Wa'il said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) bought a slave girl for seven hundred dirhams. The payment had not yet been made when the owner of the slave girl disappeared. Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) kept having it announced for a year. Then he went to the mosque and began to give her price in charity, saying all the while: "O Allah, this is on his behalf; and if he refuses, then it will be on me and to my account." Then he said: "Do likewise with every lost item or stray animal."