We reviewed request no. 1647 for the year 2005 which includes the following:

    Six years ago I gave my brother-in-law 1000 EGP to buy a gold chain, which he never did. He now wants to return 1000 EGP to me. Please note that he used this sum to conduct business and in fact gained a profit from it. Is this legally permissible?

    If the case is as mentioned in the question, it is obligatory upon the inquirer's brother-in-law to do either of the following:

• Give her the amount of gold that could have been purchased by 1000 EGP six years ago.
• Give her the equivalent sum of the gold according to the current price.

    The above answers the question and Allah the Almighty knows best.