Collusion between an employee and a water delivery contractor by recording deliveries that were not made
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Fatwa number ( 7966 )
Q: I work as a guard in one of the government offices. There is a contractor who brings water to this office by truck, at a rate of four trucks per month, according to his agreement with the office for a known amount for each truck he pours. He asks me to provide a monthly report stating that these trucks were received in full, four complete trucks per day
and date. Based on this, the contractor receives the value of these four trucks. Since this office does not consume the prescribed amount of water, it may happen that in some months the contractor does not pour any trucks at all due to the office’s lack of need, and in other months he pours only one truck. However, we are required to give him a statement certifying the receipt of all four trucks, and he receives their value based on it. I fear sin in giving this report, which constitutes a testimony, and I fear that I am assisting the contractor in consuming what is not lawful for him, even though he does not accept a report from me for less than four trucks per month. Some people try to convince me that this is the case in many offices, and with other contractors in this office in other departments, but I am not reassured by that, and I fear that I am deceiving myself, this office, and the contractor himself, who accepts nothing from me but that. I wish to be given a ruling in this matter by your Eminence so that I may be clear about the issue. May Allah prolong our lives.
A: It is not permissible for you to deceive, and your conscience is not cleared except by stating the reality of the number of trucks he poured each month. If you deviate from that, you are deceiving the office, sinful for cooperating with the contractor in sin and transgression, and consuming wealth by wrongdoing. And Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Ma'idah 5:2] , and the deception of many people regarding their interests is not an excuse
for you, nor a justification for your deception of your own interest.
Q: I work as a guard in one of the government offices. There is a contractor who brings water to this office by truck, at a rate of four trucks per month, according to his agreement with the office for a known amount for each truck he pours. He asks me to provide a monthly report stating that these trucks were received in full, four complete trucks per day
and date. Based on this, the contractor receives the value of these four trucks. Since this office does not consume the prescribed amount of water, it may happen that in some months the contractor does not pour any trucks at all due to the office’s lack of need, and in other months he pours only one truck. However, we are required to give him a statement certifying the receipt of all four trucks, and he receives their value based on it. I fear sin in giving this report, which constitutes a testimony, and I fear that I am assisting the contractor in consuming what is not lawful for him, even though he does not accept a report from me for less than four trucks per month. Some people try to convince me that this is the case in many offices, and with other contractors in this office in other departments, but I am not reassured by that, and I fear that I am deceiving myself, this office, and the contractor himself, who accepts nothing from me but that. I wish to be given a ruling in this matter by your Eminence so that I may be clear about the issue. May Allah prolong our lives.
A: It is not permissible for you to deceive, and your conscience is not cleared except by stating the reality of the number of trucks he poured each month. If you deviate from that, you are deceiving the office, sinful for cooperating with the contractor in sin and transgression, and consuming wealth by wrongdoing. And Allah the Exalted said:
And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.
وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَلاَ تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِfor you, nor a justification for your deception of your own interest.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.