Evidence for the Prohibition of Bribery and Its Danger
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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, this is Abu 'Abdullah. He says: Bribery is a danger to the individual and society. How do we warn people against this? And what is the evidence for that? May you be rewarded.
Answer:
Among the evidence is the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): "May Allah curse the one who gives a bribe and the one who takes a bribe." The one who gives the bribe is the one who pays it, and the one who takes the bribe is the one who accepts it. He also cursed the one who acts as an intermediary between them. The curse indicates that this is a major sin among the major sins. Bribery is consuming wealth by an unlawful means. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:188] Bribery causes rights to be lost. Bribery spreads betrayal in society. Bribery humiliates the righteous who do not pay bribes and advances the open sinners who do pay bribes. So bribery carries many dangers. Therefore, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the one who takes it, the one who gives it, and the one who acts as an intermediary in it. We ask Allah for safety from it. It is the illicit gain (sahth) about which Allah the Exalted spoke regarding the Jews, calling it "sahth," meaning bribery. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, this is Abu 'Abdullah. He says: Bribery is a danger to the individual and society. How do we warn people against this? And what is the evidence for that? May you be rewarded.
Answer:
Among the evidence is the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): "May Allah curse the one who gives a bribe and the one who takes a bribe." The one who gives the bribe is the one who pays it, and the one who takes the bribe is the one who accepts it. He also cursed the one who acts as an intermediary between them. The curse indicates that this is a major sin among the major sins. Bribery is consuming wealth by an unlawful means. Allah the Exalted said:
And do not consume one another's wealth unjustly or send it [in bribery] to the rulers in order that [they might aid] you [to] consume a portion of the wealth of the people in sin, while you know [it is unlawful].
وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتُدْلُوا بِهَا إِلَى الْحُكَّامِ لِتَأْكُلُوا فَرِيقًا مِّنْ أَمْوَالِ النَّاسِ بِالْإِثْمِ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/016 — archive.org (10:00)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.