This tape is a repeat of the one before it!!!
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The questioner : What is the amount of a bribe in Saudi currency, and are the gifts given to certain people considered a bribe? We ask for a detailed answer. May Allah guide you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. A bribe is anything by which a person achieves his objective. It is derived from *al-rishaa*, which is the rope by which a bucket is lowered to draw water from a well. In reality, it is divided into two categories. The first is a bribe by which a person achieves a falsehood by paying a right that is obligatory upon him, or by obtaining what is not his right. This is forbidden for both the recipient and the giver.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It was reported in a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): The curse is expulsion and distance from the mercy of Allah. This indicates that it is among the major sins, as this great punishment is attached to it.
The second category is a bribe by which a person achieves his prescribed right or removes a falsehood from himself. This is forbidden for the recipient, but permissible for the one from whom it is taken, because he wants to escape injustice or achieve his right, and he is not to be blamed for this.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, if this occurs with officials of the state, it is obligatory for the citizens to help the state in eliminating this problem by informing the state about what this criminal has done against the state and the citizens, where he prevented them from their prescribed rights or tried to burden them with what is not required of them using the authority of the system in which he is responsible, or the authority of the job in which he is responsible. The state does not approve of this.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Especially here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the state, as far as I have been informed, fights this with a severe and great struggle, and it has the right to do so because of the disruption of the system, the injustice, and the loss of rights involved in it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So the state is to be thanked for this, but the shortcoming is from us, the citizens. Many people are overcome by emotion regarding this official; they do not like to subject him to the hand of justice, which will punish him and prevent this oppression and injustice from him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then, some people also say: "This will take a long time for me. If I raise the matter to the state, there will be questions and answers and delays, and I am not responsible for this." In reality, he is responsible for this, because if the state receives this news from this person and it is established with them, they will punish him, making him an example for those before him, those after him, and those behind him among the officials. By this, the great benefit is achieved for the state and for the officials themselves, as they will be deterred from this shameful, forbidden act.
In summary, a bribe is of two types: a bribe that is forbidden for both the recipient and the giver, which is used to establish a falsehood or pay a right.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And a bribe that is forbidden for the recipient but not for the giver, which is used by the giver to achieve his right or remove injustice from himself. However, even if this exists, it is obligatory that it be reported to the officials of the state so that this criminal receives his due punishment.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the questioner's question about gifts, we say to him: Gifts to officials in a case where you have a personal interest are, in reality, a form of bribery.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is established in the authentic collections that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a man named Abdullah ibn al-Lutbiyah as a collector of alms. When he returned, he said: "This is for you, and this was given to me as a gift." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) became angry about that and said: Imam Ahmad and the people of the Sunan reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Although there is a defect in the chain of this hadith, it is supported by the hadith of Abdullah ibn al-Lutbiyah which we mentioned.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So, gifts to workers and employees in a case that concerns you, in order for them to facilitate it for you, are in reality a form of bribery. Therefore, it is not permissible for a person to use them, because he is bribing them, except in the manner we mentioned before: if he wants to achieve his right and cannot achieve it except by that, then it is permissible for him, but forbidden for the recipient. Even so, we do not encourage this act; rather, we see that it is obligatory for him to report this and similar matters to the officials.
The questioner : Yes, so it is not permissible for the giver and the recipient?
The Shaykh : If the giver is compelled to this and cannot reach his right except by that, then he is in a state of necessity where he cannot lose his right.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And the sin is upon the recipient. But if it is possible to raise the matter to the authorities so that they punish this man and give the owner of the right his right, then that is what is obligatory for him.
The questioner : But is it permissible for him to pay, for example, to take his right and then remain silent, not reporting this official?
The Shaykh : He must report it, as we said.
The questioner : Yes, he must report it...
The Shaykh : He must report it to the officials, yes.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So that they carry out the necessary punishment upon him.
The questioner : Yes, this message reached us from a listener. He says: Your brother Sa'id Abu Bakr from al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. He says in his message: What is the ruling on feasts? In reality, we present this question frequently in the program *Nur 'ala al-Darb* (Light on the Path) due to the many reports we receive about it and the many questions and inquiries we also receive regarding it.
The questioner : He asks: What is the ruling on feasts or celebrations where many Muslims gather after a week of the burial of the deceased, and also after forty days, to invoke Allah for happiness, with evidence from the Book and the Sunnah indicating its invalidity or permissibility, if you would be so kind?
The Shaykh : The ruling on this matter is that it is an innovated act that was not the practice of the righteous predecessors. There is no doubt that supplication is an act of worship. So, innovating a supplication in a specific form and at a specific time without permission from the Lawgiver is an innovation in worship that is not in the religion of Allah.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This generality, surrounded by every "no," has no specification whatsoever. The claim of those who say that the hadith is based on an implied omission, that every bad innovation is misguidance, is false. The wording and meaning of the hadith refute it, because the wording is originally complete and does not need implication or omission. As for the meaning, if it were said "every bad innovation is misguidance," the word "innovation" would have no benefit at all, because the bad is misguidance whether it is an innovation or not, even if this bad thing is from the matters explicitly mentioned in the texts, such as usury or unlawful sexual intercourse and the like.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : We said: It is bad, even though it is not an innovation, because its ruling was mentioned in the Shari'ah and clarified. So the important point is that those who implied or said that there is an implication in the hadith, their statement is refuted by the wording and the meaning. Accordingly, the supplication mentioned by the brother questioner, which is gathered in the week or in the forty days, is of this type; it is an innovation and misguidance.
The evidence for this from the Noble Qur'an is the saying of the Exalted:[Ash-Shuraa 42:21] This indicates that no one can permit or legislate in the religion what Allah has not permitted. And whoever legislates in the religion what Allah has not permitted has made himself a partner with Allah, and made his followers partners with Allah in worship and in the legislation of the work of Allah's servants.
And as for the Sunnah, it is what we referred to, his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): This statement was one that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to preach on Friday to make clear to the people that this matter is serious, because of the transgression against Allah and His Messenger, the lack of proper conduct with Allah and His Messenger, and the diminishment of the Shari'ah, where he completed it with what he claimed to be good. If it had been good, it would have been prescribed. So this includes the diminishment of the Shari'ah as well. It also includes that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is either deficient or negligent, because if the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know the ruling of this matter that this man legislated, he would be deficient, and may he be far from that.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And if he knew of it but did not convey it to his community, he is also negligent, though God forbid that he would do so. The important point is that all innovations, in reality, involve faulting the religion, transgressing against Allah and His Messenger, and getting ahead of Allah and His Messenger. They are also either such that their innovators claim to have evidence for them, or they do not claim so. If they do not claim evidence, then they are invalid from the start, because there is no evidence for them. If they claim evidence from the Book or the Sunnah, we say to them: This evidence you have claimed is either such that it necessitates what you stated regarding its prescription, or it does not. If it does not necessitate what I stated regarding its prescription, then there is no evidence in it for you. If it does necessitate it, then it follows that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was either ignorant of its implication, or aware of it and negligent in not performing it and not calling to it. In that case, it follows that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was either deficient in his knowledge, or negligent in his calling and his practice.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : In any case, there is no good in innovations. And by this, the eloquence of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is known in his general, comprehensive saying:.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : His other question states: It is mentioned in the Book and in some fiqh books that I have with me—of course, we do not know what books he has with him—that a woman divorced three times does not become lawful to her husband until she marries another husband. So how is this marriage carried out? May Allah guide you.
The Shaykh : This book he mentioned is also in the Qur'an.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because Allah says:[Al-Baqarah 2:229] Then He said: [Al-Baqarah 2:230] And this marriage with the second husband is completed.
The questioner : Do you mean if he divorced her after the first two divorces?
The Shaykh : Yes, if he divorced her after the first two divorces. And this marriage is completed if the second marriage, the marriage of the second husband, is a marriage of desire, not a marriage of dissolution. That is, he married her because he desired her, and then he died from her, or he lost interest in her and was not successful in staying with her. In that case, when her waiting period from him ends, she becomes lawful to the first husband.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And in this second marriage, intercourse is necessary, such that he actually has sexual relations with her. If he divorces her before intercourse, even if there was touching and kissing, she does not become lawful to the first husband. Because the wife of Rafi' al-Qurazi came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him that Rafi' had divorced her, and that she had married 'Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Zubayr after him, and that he had not had with her anything but the like of the fringe of a garment. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 1932Sahih (Darussalam).
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The important point is that in the marriage of the second husband, two conditions are necessary. The first is that it must be a marriage of desire; he must desire the woman.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And he must not intend to dissolve her for the first husband. The second condition is that he must have intercourse with her. If he does not, she does not become lawful to the first husband, even if the marriage was a marriage of desire. Likewise, if the marriage was a marriage of dissolution, she does not become lawful to the first husband. Yes.
The questioner : What is a marriage of dissolution?
The Shaykh : A marriage of dissolution means that he intends by this marriage to have intercourse with her and then divorce her immediately so that she becomes lawful to the first husband.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : He has no interest in this woman; his only interest is the benefit of the first husband. So we say in this case: She does not become lawful to the first husband, because a marriage of dissolution is invalid. A marriage must be a marriage of desire, intended for the union of the two spouses.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is what he intended. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 1 And it was narrated from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Sunan Abi Dawud 2076Sahih (Al-Albani).
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. A bribe is anything by which a person achieves his objective. It is derived from *al-rishaa*, which is the rope by which a bucket is lowered to draw water from a well. In reality, it is divided into two categories. The first is a bribe by which a person achieves a falsehood by paying a right that is obligatory upon him, or by obtaining what is not his right. This is forbidden for both the recipient and the giver.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It was reported in a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
That he cursed the one who gives a bribe and the one who takes it.
أنه لعن الراشي والمرتشيThe second category is a bribe by which a person achieves his prescribed right or removes a falsehood from himself. This is forbidden for the recipient, but permissible for the one from whom it is taken, because he wants to escape injustice or achieve his right, and he is not to be blamed for this.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, if this occurs with officials of the state, it is obligatory for the citizens to help the state in eliminating this problem by informing the state about what this criminal has done against the state and the citizens, where he prevented them from their prescribed rights or tried to burden them with what is not required of them using the authority of the system in which he is responsible, or the authority of the job in which he is responsible. The state does not approve of this.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Especially here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the state, as far as I have been informed, fights this with a severe and great struggle, and it has the right to do so because of the disruption of the system, the injustice, and the loss of rights involved in it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So the state is to be thanked for this, but the shortcoming is from us, the citizens. Many people are overcome by emotion regarding this official; they do not like to subject him to the hand of justice, which will punish him and prevent this oppression and injustice from him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then, some people also say: "This will take a long time for me. If I raise the matter to the state, there will be questions and answers and delays, and I am not responsible for this." In reality, he is responsible for this, because if the state receives this news from this person and it is established with them, they will punish him, making him an example for those before him, those after him, and those behind him among the officials. By this, the great benefit is achieved for the state and for the officials themselves, as they will be deterred from this shameful, forbidden act.
In summary, a bribe is of two types: a bribe that is forbidden for both the recipient and the giver, which is used to establish a falsehood or pay a right.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And a bribe that is forbidden for the recipient but not for the giver, which is used by the giver to achieve his right or remove injustice from himself. However, even if this exists, it is obligatory that it be reported to the officials of the state so that this criminal receives his due punishment.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the questioner's question about gifts, we say to him: Gifts to officials in a case where you have a personal interest are, in reality, a form of bribery.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is established in the authentic collections that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a man named Abdullah ibn al-Lutbiyah as a collector of alms. When he returned, he said: "This is for you, and this was given to me as a gift." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) became angry about that and said:
We appoint one of you to a position, and he comes and says: This is for you, and this was given to me as a gift. So why did he not sit in his father's and mother's house to see if he would be given a gift or not?
إنا نستعمل الرجل منكم على العمل فيأتي ويقول: هذا لكم وهذا أهدي إلي، فهلا جلس في بيت أبيه وأمه فيُنظر هل يُهدى له أم لاGifts to workers are embezzlement.
هدايا العمال غلولThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So, gifts to workers and employees in a case that concerns you, in order for them to facilitate it for you, are in reality a form of bribery. Therefore, it is not permissible for a person to use them, because he is bribing them, except in the manner we mentioned before: if he wants to achieve his right and cannot achieve it except by that, then it is permissible for him, but forbidden for the recipient. Even so, we do not encourage this act; rather, we see that it is obligatory for him to report this and similar matters to the officials.
The questioner : Yes, so it is not permissible for the giver and the recipient?
The Shaykh : If the giver is compelled to this and cannot reach his right except by that, then he is in a state of necessity where he cannot lose his right.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And the sin is upon the recipient. But if it is possible to raise the matter to the authorities so that they punish this man and give the owner of the right his right, then that is what is obligatory for him.
The questioner : But is it permissible for him to pay, for example, to take his right and then remain silent, not reporting this official?
The Shaykh : He must report it, as we said.
The questioner : Yes, he must report it...
The Shaykh : He must report it to the officials, yes.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So that they carry out the necessary punishment upon him.
The questioner : Yes, this message reached us from a listener. He says: Your brother Sa'id Abu Bakr from al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. He says in his message: What is the ruling on feasts? In reality, we present this question frequently in the program *Nur 'ala al-Darb* (Light on the Path) due to the many reports we receive about it and the many questions and inquiries we also receive regarding it.
The questioner : He asks: What is the ruling on feasts or celebrations where many Muslims gather after a week of the burial of the deceased, and also after forty days, to invoke Allah for happiness, with evidence from the Book and the Sunnah indicating its invalidity or permissibility, if you would be so kind?
The Shaykh : The ruling on this matter is that it is an innovated act that was not the practice of the righteous predecessors. There is no doubt that supplication is an act of worship. So, innovating a supplication in a specific form and at a specific time without permission from the Lawgiver is an innovation in worship that is not in the religion of Allah.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Every innovation is misguidance.
كل بدعة ضلالةThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : We said: It is bad, even though it is not an innovation, because its ruling was mentioned in the Shari'ah and clarified. So the important point is that those who implied or said that there is an implication in the hadith, their statement is refuted by the wording and the meaning. Accordingly, the supplication mentioned by the brother questioner, which is gathered in the week or in the forty days, is of this type; it is an innovation and misguidance.
The evidence for this from the Noble Qur'an is the saying of the Exalted:
Or have they other deities who have ordained for them a religion to which Allah has not consented? But if not for the decisive word, it would have been concluded between them
أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ شَرَعُوا لَهُمْ مِنَ الدِّينِ مَا لَمْ يَأْذَنْ بِهِ اللَّهُ وَلَوْلا كَلِمَةُ الْفَصْلِ لَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْAnd as for the Sunnah, it is what we referred to, his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
Every innovation is misguidance.
كل بدعة ضلالةThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And if he knew of it but did not convey it to his community, he is also negligent, though God forbid that he would do so. The important point is that all innovations, in reality, involve faulting the religion, transgressing against Allah and His Messenger, and getting ahead of Allah and His Messenger. They are also either such that their innovators claim to have evidence for them, or they do not claim so. If they do not claim evidence, then they are invalid from the start, because there is no evidence for them. If they claim evidence from the Book or the Sunnah, we say to them: This evidence you have claimed is either such that it necessitates what you stated regarding its prescription, or it does not. If it does not necessitate what I stated regarding its prescription, then there is no evidence in it for you. If it does necessitate it, then it follows that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was either ignorant of its implication, or aware of it and negligent in not performing it and not calling to it. In that case, it follows that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was either deficient in his knowledge, or negligent in his calling and his practice.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : In any case, there is no good in innovations. And by this, the eloquence of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is known in his general, comprehensive saying:
Every innovation is misguidance.
كل بدعة ضلالةThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : His other question states: It is mentioned in the Book and in some fiqh books that I have with me—of course, we do not know what books he has with him—that a woman divorced three times does not become lawful to her husband until she marries another husband. So how is this marriage carried out? May Allah guide you.
The Shaykh : This book he mentioned is also in the Qur'an.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because Allah says:
Divorce is twice. Then, either keep [her] in an acceptable manner or release [her] with good treatment.
الطَّلاقُ مَرَّتَانِ فَإمْسَاكٌ بِمَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ تَسْرِيحٌ بِإِحْسَانٍAnd if he has divorced her [for the third time], then she is not lawful to him afterward until [after] she marries a husband other than him
فَإِنْ طَلَّقَهَا فَلا تَحِلُّ لَهُ مِنْ بَعْدُ حَتَّى تَنكِحَ زَوْجًا غَيْرَهُThe questioner : Do you mean if he divorced her after the first two divorces?
The Shaykh : Yes, if he divorced her after the first two divorces. And this marriage is completed if the second marriage, the marriage of the second husband, is a marriage of desire, not a marriage of dissolution. That is, he married her because he desired her, and then he died from her, or he lost interest in her and was not successful in staying with her. In that case, when her waiting period from him ends, she becomes lawful to the first husband.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And in this second marriage, intercourse is necessary, such that he actually has sexual relations with her. If he divorces her before intercourse, even if there was touching and kissing, she does not become lawful to the first husband. Because the wife of Rafi' al-Qurazi came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him that Rafi' had divorced her, and that she had married 'Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Zubayr after him, and that he had not had with her anything but the like of the fringe of a garment. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Do you want to go back to Rifa'ah? No, not until you taste his ('Abdur-Rahman's) sweetness and he tastes your sweetness.
أتريدين أن ترجعي إلى رفاعة؟ لا. حتى تذوقي عسيلته ويذوق عسيلتكThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The important point is that in the marriage of the second husband, two conditions are necessary. The first is that it must be a marriage of desire; he must desire the woman.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And he must not intend to dissolve her for the first husband. The second condition is that he must have intercourse with her. If he does not, she does not become lawful to the first husband, even if the marriage was a marriage of desire. Likewise, if the marriage was a marriage of dissolution, she does not become lawful to the first husband. Yes.
The questioner : What is a marriage of dissolution?
The Shaykh : A marriage of dissolution means that he intends by this marriage to have intercourse with her and then divorce her immediately so that she becomes lawful to the first husband.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : He has no interest in this woman; his only interest is the benefit of the first husband. So we say in this case: She does not become lawful to the first husband, because a marriage of dissolution is invalid. A marriage must be a marriage of desire, intended for the union of the two spouses.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is what he intended. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended.
إنما الأعمال بالنيات، وإنما لكل امرئ ما نوىNarrated Ali ibn AbuTalib: (The narrator Isma'il said: I think ash-Sha'bi attributed this tradition to the Prophet) The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Curse be upon the one who marries a divorced woman with the intention of making her lawful for her former husband and upon the one for whom she is made lawful.
لعن الله المحلل والمحلل لهThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.