Returning stolen property to its kaafir owners
Question

                I have recently started practicing and I am trying to repent from the bad things I have done previously. I understand that I must put right any wrong to any Muslim I may have done. What about non-muslims? I have been told that they refuse Islam and so they have no honour. If for example I have stolen from them, should I return this knowing that I may face criminal prosecutions by the non - Muslims? What should I do with those things that belong to non-muslims?.
Praise be to Allah.
    Firstly: we congratulate you for having started to pray 
    regularly and your striving to repent, and we give you the glad tidings that 
    Allaah accepts the repentance of the one who repents to Him and He forgives 
    his sins. The Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 
    “The one who repents from sin is like one who did not sin at all.” Narrated 
    by al-Tirmidhi and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani. 

    Secondly: undoubtedly stealing is a major sin and Allaah has 
    stipulated a hadd punishment for it in this world and a severe punishment in 
    the Hereafter. 

    Allaah says (Interpretation of the meaning): 
“And (as for) the male thief and the female 
    thief, cut off (from the wrist joint) their (right) hands as a recompense 
    for that which they committed, a punishment by way of example from Allaah”

    [al-Maa'idah 5:38]

    And the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 
    him) said: “May Allaah curse the thief.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6783 and 
    Muslim, 1687.

     Stealing is haraam whether the person from whom the property 
    is stolen is a Muslim or a kaafir whose life and wealth is protected by 
    sharee’ah. With regard to a kaafir who is at war against the Muslims, it is 
    permissible to take his wealth, because at a time of war that is regarded as 
    taking booty and is not regarded as stealing. 

    Thirdly: with regard to taking a kaafir’s wealth by means of 
    betrayal and cheating, this is haraam, because betrayal is haraam in Islam 
    whether one deceives a Muslim or a kaafir. 

    Al-Bukhaari (2583) narrated from al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah 
    that he had accompanied some people during the Jaahiliyyah, and he killed 
    them and took their wealth. Then he came and embraced Islam, and the Prophet 
     (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “As for your Islam it 
    is accepted, but as for the wealth I want nothing of it.” According to a 
    version narrated by Abu Dawood (2765): “As for your Islam, we accept it, but 
    as for the wealth, it is wealth obtained through betrayal and we have no 
    need of it.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood. 

    Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said: The words “but as for the wealth I 
    want nothing of it” mean that he did not want it because al-Mugheerah had 
    taken it by means of betrayal. It may be understood from this that it is not 
    permissible to take the wealth of the kuffaar at times of peace by means of 
    betrayal, because friends keep company on a basis of trust, and trusts are 
    to be rendered back to their owners, whether they are Muslims or kaafirs. It 
    is permissible to take the wealth of kaafirs in cases of war, but the 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sometimes held onto 
    wealth (instead of distributing it as war booty) in the hope that its owners 
    would become Muslims, then he could return their wealth to them. Fath 
    al-Baari, 5/341. 

    An example of betrayal is when a kaafir has entered a Muslin 
    country in safety, or a Muslim has entered a kaafir country in safety (for 
    example, with a visa), and what this visa implies is that they guarantee 
    that the person’s life and wealth are protected safe, and by the same token 
    they should also be guaranteed that their lives and wealth are safe, so it 
    is not permissible to commit acts of aggression against them or to 
    confiscate or steal their wealth. 
Al-Shaafa’i (may Allaah 
    have mercy on him) said concerning some people who entered the kaafir land 
    and were in a position to take something of their wealth: If a Muslim man 
    entered dar al-harb in safety (i.e., under the protection of the kaafir 
    authorities), and he is able to take something of their wealth, it is not 
    permissible for him to take anything of it, great or small, because if he is 
    safe from them, then they should be safe from him. And it is forbidden to 
    takes property in several cases: (1) if its owner is Muslim, (2) if the 
    owner is living under the protection of the Islamic state, (3) if the owner 
    has been granted protection for a certain period… 

    Al-Umm, 4/284. 

    Al-Sarkhasi said: It is not proper for a Muslim who has been 
    offered protection to betray them, because betrayal is haraam. 
If he betrays them and 
    takes their wealth and takes it to dar al-islam (the Muslim lands), it is 
    not right for a Muslim to buy it from him if he knows about that, because it 
    has been obtained by evil means, and buying from him will tempt him to do 
    the same thing again, and it is not right for the Muslim to do that. The 
    basic principle regarding this is the hadeeth of al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah 
    (may Allaah be pleased with him)…  

    Al-Mabsoot, 10/96. 

    If Allaah enables a Muslim to repent from taking people’s 
    wealth unlawfully, one of the conditions of this repentance is to restore to 
    people what is rightfully theirs, even if they are kaafirs. If there is the 
    fear of exposure or criminal penalties as a result of returning things to 
    their rightful owners, then it is permissible to look for a suitable way of 
    preserving your honour and returning things to their rightful owners without 
    embarrassing yourself, by sending him the money by mail, or asking someone 
    to give it to him without mentioning your name or the fact that you stole 
    it. It is not necessary for the one who wants to return something to its 
    rightful owner to disclose himself or his identity, because the point is 
    that things should be restored to their rightful owners. 

    Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: If 
    you steal from a person or an organization, then you have to get in touch 
    with the person from whom you stole and tell him, “I have such and such of 
    yours,” then agree on how to settle the matter. But a person may feel that 
    this is too difficult for him and that he cannot go to a person and say, “I 
    stole such and such from you and took such and such from you.” In this case, 
    he can send this money – or whatever – to him in another, indirect way, such 
    as giving it to a friend of this person, and telling him, “This is for So 
    and so,” and telling him the story and saying, “Now I have repented to 
    Allaah, and I hope that you will give it to him.” Fataawa Islamiyyah, 
    4/162. 
See also questions 
    no. 7545, 
    14367 and 
    31234.