Bribing to conclude a transaction and avoid delay
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, you mentioned in last Friday's sermon some of the forbidden earnings, including what pertains to bribery, and that the briber and the one who accepts the bribe are cursed, as stated in the hadith. So the question, may Allah preserve you, is: if a person needs to pay a bribe to someone in a government department so that his right is not obstructed, and there is no delay in his need, but rather the employee concludes it—if I did not pay it to him, he would delay and postpone the transaction and its contract, and conversely, if I paid it to him—would it be permissible for me to pay it to him, because I have heard that in this case, paying it is permissible and taking it is forbidden? Is this correct?
Answer:
No, it is not correct, and it is not permissible. You are in a Muslim society; you should file a complaint about this bribe-taker with the officials above him. The officials are now sensitive about those who take bribes and follow up on them with the strictest scrutiny. So you must file a complaint about him with the officials above him, and they will suffice you regarding them. Yes, and do not pay the bribe. And Allah the Exalted knows best, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, you mentioned in last Friday's sermon some of the forbidden earnings, including what pertains to bribery, and that the briber and the one who accepts the bribe are cursed, as stated in the hadith. So the question, may Allah preserve you, is: if a person needs to pay a bribe to someone in a government department so that his right is not obstructed, and there is no delay in his need, but rather the employee concludes it—if I did not pay it to him, he would delay and postpone the transaction and its contract, and conversely, if I paid it to him—would it be permissible for me to pay it to him, because I have heard that in this case, paying it is permissible and taking it is forbidden? Is this correct?
Answer:
No, it is not correct, and it is not permissible. You are in a Muslim society; you should file a complaint about this bribe-taker with the officials above him. The officials are now sensitive about those who take bribes and follow up on them with the strictest scrutiny. So you must file a complaint about him with the officials above him, and they will suffice you regarding them. Yes, and do not pay the bribe. And Allah the Exalted knows best, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
Source
شرح قرة عيون الموحدين في تحقيق دعوة الأنبياء والمرسلين، باب قول الله - تعالى - : { أَفَأَمِنُوا مَكْرَ اللَّهِ فَلا يَأْمَنُ مَكْرَ اللَّهِ إِلا الْقَوْمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ } — islamhouse.com (1:10:47)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.