Not knowing the money owner

Q: A man worked in building a skylight for my father in return for a daily wage more than twenty years ago. He kept an iron box with my father then he disappeared and none of us knows his whereabouts. When my father died in 1397 AH in (Part No. 15; Page No. 427) Shawwal, we wanted to know the owner of the box. We found a paper twisted inside a corbel, including 3362 pounds and four pounds and the name Abu Sayf. I knew from my father that he used to take from this money during his lifetime. I, thus, bought silver coins to complete the sum of money found in the paper. I even published the names of the worker and the owner of the money in Al-Jezirah Newspaper three times, but no one appeared. It is worth mentioning that the silver riyal is now equivalent to five riyals or more in paper form. I do not know what I should do with the money and the box. Does your Eminence think that I should take the silver coins and use the paper money for building a Masjid (mosque) or for buying a land and building a Masjid on it? Should I give the money to Bayt-ul-Mal (Muslim treasury)? All I want is to free my father from liability. May Allah reward you with the best.

A: If the reality is as you have mentioned, it is permissible for you to spend the sum of money in the charitable ways of disposition, such as using it as a contribution for building or maintaining a Masjid or giving it to the poor with the intention of it being a Sadaqah (voluntary charity) on behalf of its owner. If it happens that he comes back and asks for his money, tell him what you did. If he accepts, this will be all right. If not, give him the money and you will be rewarded. (Part No. 15; Page No. 428) May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.