Recovering one’s debt in a different kind

Question

Question: A certain person still owed 95 rupees as hire charges for my truck. My truck driver seized his bicycle. Now that bicycle has been kept with me for 10 months; despite searching, neither has he been found nor has he come himself. I have not used the bicycle at all, because it is in very poor condition, and its price would hardly be fifty rupees. May I, after renewing the bicycle, put it to my own use, or sell it and use the price for my own needs?

Answer

To the extent of the bicycle’s market price, it is as though you have recovered your money. You have the choice either to have it repaired and use it, or to sell it and use the price.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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