The Ruling on Paying a Bribe to Obtain One's Right
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, if I have a right that I cannot obtain except by paying a bribe, should I pay it?
The Shaykh:
No. If the right is at stake, you should complain to the authorities. The one in authority is entitled to the right, according to the Shari'ah ruling.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, is it considered wastefulness?
The Shaykh:
Because if you pay the bribe, you will stumble upon others, preventing people's rights in that matter. It is comparable to gifts and comparable to bribes. In such a case, the matter must be raised to those in authority.
Honorable Shaykh, if I have a right that I cannot obtain except by paying a bribe, should I pay it?
The Shaykh:
No. If the right is at stake, you should complain to the authorities. The one in authority is entitled to the right, according to the Shari'ah ruling.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, is it considered wastefulness?
The Shaykh:
Because if you pay the bribe, you will stumble upon others, preventing people's rights in that matter. It is comparable to gifts and comparable to bribes. In such a case, the matter must be raised to those in authority.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، باب الهبة — islamhouse.com (54:21)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.