Taking A Bribe In Exchange For Letting Goods Out Without Any Payment

Giving or receiving bribes is a major sin for which repentance is obligatory. Fortunately, the Mercy of Allah is vast, and He loves when His servants repent for their sins.

Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the Mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”

[Qur’an; 39:53]

Nabi Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam is reported to have said,

“The one who repents from sin is like one who never sinned.” [Ibn Majah 4250]

Conditions of Repentance

The following are conditions for genuine repentance when one’s sins are between oneself and Allah:

(1) One should abandon the sin.

(2) One should be remorseful over having committed the sin.

(3) One should make a firm resolution never to commit the sin again.

If any of these three conditions are omitted, the repentance will not be valid.

Repentance from Sins Connected to Human Rights or Property of Others

When one’s sins involve the rights or property of others, then the three conditions mentioned above apply, along with the following:

(4) One must absolve oneself from the rights of the person/s affected. If, for example, the sin is stealing wealth or property, you should return the items to their rightful owner.

Repentance without the fourth condition would not be sufficient to waive any of the rights owed to others. One must restore the rights of the victim/s.

Returning Items The Value Of Which Is Unknown

Since you’ve indicated that returning the items is not possible (due to items having left the premises and probably disposed of), you should return their value to the store. You could do so anonymously by depositing the money directly into the company’s bank account. You don’t need to confess your sins to the managers, especially if this will cause further problems. Still, an anonymous explanatory note along with the details of your deposit should suffice. Giving the value of the items to charity would not suffice in this case since the steps mentioned above are possible.

If the sin has to do with financial duties, such as withholding Zakaat, seizing property by force and crimes against people’s wealth, then as well as that (repentance) the obligation must also be discharged, such as paying Zakaat, returning people’s wealth to them if it is still present or paying them the equivalent otherwise, or asking the owner to forgive him. If the person has died, then he should give it to his heir. If he does not have an heir (or the heir cannot be located), then it should be given in charity to the poor on behalf of the owner.