If I have a transaction in one of the government departments and I cannot complete it except by paying a sum of money to one of the employees, is this permissible?
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The questioner : If I have a transaction in one of the government departments and I cannot complete it except by paying a sum of money to one of the employees, is it permissible for me to do so? Please advise us, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for employees to fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and to perform their duties in the required manner, and not to show favoritism in their jobs to a noble person, a relative, a rich person, or a friend, but rather people should be equal in their eyes; whoever comes first is more deserving. It is not permissible for them to delay people's transactions in order to torment people, exhaust people, or to force people to pay them a fee. If they do this, they are sinful, and also treacherous. It is obligatory for the one who has authority over them to punish them, discipline them, and replace them with someone better than them. But those who took something from him are those who consume illicit wealth, eating money by right, and they are sinful from two aspects: the first aspect is treachery in their job, and the second aspect is eating this money by right.
And it is upon the one among these employees who is granted success and repents to return what he took to its owners. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge, and benefit the Muslims through you.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for employees to fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and to perform their duties in the required manner, and not to show favoritism in their jobs to a noble person, a relative, a rich person, or a friend, but rather people should be equal in their eyes; whoever comes first is more deserving. It is not permissible for them to delay people's transactions in order to torment people, exhaust people, or to force people to pay them a fee. If they do this, they are sinful, and also treacherous. It is obligatory for the one who has authority over them to punish them, discipline them, and replace them with someone better than them. But those who took something from him are those who consume illicit wealth, eating money by right, and they are sinful from two aspects: the first aspect is treachery in their job, and the second aspect is eating this money by right.
And it is upon the one among these employees who is granted success and repents to return what he took to its owners. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge, and benefit the Muslims through you.